Former vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro disclosed this week that she has multiple myeloma, a condition that kills 50% of those diagnosed with it within five years.

In 1998, Ms. Ferraro visited her doctor for a routine physical, which included a blood test. When the results of the blood test indicated irregularities in her white blood cell count, further testing led to the diagnosis of multiple myeloma.

Early diagnosis and some research by one of her children helped put Ms. Ferraro in touch with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Multiple Myeloma Foundation. Through them, she learned of the great recent advances that had been made in myeloma treatment, including the reclamation of a drug that once caused severe birth defects in children whose mothers used the drug.

Ms. Ferraro's treatment includes a dose of thalidomide every night. The same substance that was the scourge of the medical community 40 years ago may be prolonging Ms. Ferraro's life. Almost three years after her diagnosis, she appears to be in good health and she continues to be very active professionally.

Still, Ms. Ferraro and her husband are currently in the process of moving. What may seem like a typical downsizing in housing now that the children are grown and on their own has broader implications. In Ms. Ferraro's case, she is preparing for a future in which, as a result of her disease, stairs may be difficult to navigate. Thanks to a routine physical and good clinical research, that future is more distant than it otherwise would have been.