Monday, June 21, 2010
June 21, 2010
Good News: the CT-scan that was performed last Friday showed no myeloma; while I will still have a Velcade infusion tomorrow; I hope that chemo will curtailed or reduced shortly. Monitoring, obviously, will continue.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
June 15, 2010
Went for Velcade infusion today; no problems. BP was 130/79, WBC = 7.2, Hemoglobin = 14.5, Hemocrit = 14.5, platelets = 44, RBC = 4.59, and creatinine = 0.9. Also got the results of last weeks (6/8/2010), more extensive lab results: Igg = 1432 (normal and down form 6/1/2010 results, M-spike = 1.1, unchanged, and Kappa LC = 3.12, an increase from the previous weeks result of 2.58.
Last Tuesday (6/8/2010), I talked to the stem cell transplant specialist. He is inclined to curtail or reduce chemo and just monitor my blood chemistry over time. If cancer markers go up, then a stem cell transplant may be in order. He and my O/H will discuss this and develop a recommendation. For the time being, weekly chemo will continue. He also has scheduled me for a complete CAT scan just to see in no additional bone lesions have developed. The CAT scan will take place this Friday.
A review of medicare guidelines is that stem cell transplants require the patient to be at Durie-Salmon Stage II or Stage III. It is not clear that my MM is this far advanced (yeah!!!). The CAT scan may provide additional information on this.
This past weekend. my wife went to St. Augustine and ate oysters and seafood and drink draft beer. Very nice.
Last Tuesday (6/8/2010), I talked to the stem cell transplant specialist. He is inclined to curtail or reduce chemo and just monitor my blood chemistry over time. If cancer markers go up, then a stem cell transplant may be in order. He and my O/H will discuss this and develop a recommendation. For the time being, weekly chemo will continue. He also has scheduled me for a complete CAT scan just to see in no additional bone lesions have developed. The CAT scan will take place this Friday.
A review of medicare guidelines is that stem cell transplants require the patient to be at Durie-Salmon Stage II or Stage III. It is not clear that my MM is this far advanced (yeah!!!). The CAT scan may provide additional information on this.
This past weekend. my wife went to St. Augustine and ate oysters and seafood and drink draft beer. Very nice.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
June 5, 2010
Yesterday was dex day. The dex pills (10 mg) usually make me feel good; however not so much yesterday. I did, however, fall asleep last night at 10:30 and woke up at 7:00 today; thus I had a good nights sleep. Maybe my body is handling the dex better as insomnia appears to be easing up.
I received an e-mail from a high sh cool classmate that one of our classmates is now in a nursing home for dementia and/or Alzheimer's. This fellow would be the same age as me; at least my brain is working ok and I have never had "chemo brain" nor any adverse mental reaction to dex other than insomnia and slight hyperactivity.
I received an e-mail from a high sh cool classmate that one of our classmates is now in a nursing home for dementia and/or Alzheimer's. This fellow would be the same age as me; at least my brain is working ok and I have never had "chemo brain" nor any adverse mental reaction to dex other than insomnia and slight hyperactivity.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
June 3, 2010
My latest lab results (June 1, 2010) are in and compared with my previous lab results (March 29, 2010); as follows:
Igg was 1491, which is an increase from 1378
M-spike was 1.1 reamining constant
Kappa LC was 2.58, which is a decrease from 2.69
Ca was 9.7 which is normal
Glucose was 172; however, this, while high, was a non-fasting measurement.
The bottom line is that after 4 weeks off chemo, my lab values are not far different than they were on March 29, 2010.
I do have some good news to report on the stem cell transplant front; Shands, at least, will accept my insurance for a consultation to determine if I am a candidate for a transplant. The consultation is scheduled for June 8.
I slept good this past Tuesday after my Velcade infusion and did not need an Ambien. Tomorrow is my dexamethasome day; normally the dex makes me feel good.
Igg was 1491, which is an increase from 1378
M-spike was 1.1 reamining constant
Kappa LC was 2.58, which is a decrease from 2.69
Ca was 9.7 which is normal
Glucose was 172; however, this, while high, was a non-fasting measurement.
The bottom line is that after 4 weeks off chemo, my lab values are not far different than they were on March 29, 2010.
I do have some good news to report on the stem cell transplant front; Shands, at least, will accept my insurance for a consultation to determine if I am a candidate for a transplant. The consultation is scheduled for June 8.
I slept good this past Tuesday after my Velcade infusion and did not need an Ambien. Tomorrow is my dexamethasome day; normally the dex makes me feel good.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
June 1, 2010
Went for Velcade/Zometa infusion today; again no big deal. BP was 113/77, creatinine was 1.2; CBC's were all in normal range.
However, a big shock came as the stem cell transplant folks at Shands called to say they did not accept my insurance; now I will have to find a hospital in FL that will accept it. This means that I probably have to go out-of-town for the transplant.
More red tape, damn.
However, a big shock came as the stem cell transplant folks at Shands called to say they did not accept my insurance; now I will have to find a hospital in FL that will accept it. This means that I probably have to go out-of-town for the transplant.
More red tape, damn.
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