Friday, December 31, 2010

December 31, 2005

Happy New Year to Everyone:

Yesterday was dex day; so I was up all night; but watched the late Nebraska-Washington bowl game.

When you take steroids such as dex, you have to worry about glaucoma; had my checkup today; everything ok, will go back in 6 months. I have a slight infection in my gum; no pain but I suspect that a root canal may be in order. Will see dentist on Monday.
If I do need dental work, I will need to postpone January's Zometa infusion.

Also will see O/H and get the results of Mondays lab work (it takes about 4 working days to get M-spike, Igg, Kappa LC, etc.). Other than dex, I have been of chemo for 6 months. If the cancer numbers have gone up, then I guess I am back on Velcade again. Also I will start pursuing a stem cell transplant.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

December 23, 2010

We are back from our cruise; had a good time and was able to do some snorkeling at Roatan. Probably ate too much as I weigh 5 pounds more now than when I left.

Had my Zometa treatement last Tuesday; WBCs were a little low; but everything else was ok. Today is dex day so I doubt I will sleep tonight.

I go and see the H/O on Monday after New Years. At that time, I will know whether I can stay off chemo for another month.

Friday, December 3, 2010

December 4, 2010

Today is dex day again; so I am still up and its 1:30 in the morning. Dex was common when I was UGA back in the 60s. Students would take a pill and stay up all night studying. Generally the day I take dex (usually at about 8:00 am), I feel quite good and productive. The difficulty with dex is that my brain keeps working when I lay down and try to go to sleep.

This past Tuesday, I went to see my O/H. My numbers were as follows: WBC = 3.6; but my neutrophils were good so I am not overly susceptible to infection. Igg is 1558, but this is only 4 over normal. M-spike was 1.2, which is an increase over last months 1.1; however for the two proceeding months it was 1.2. Glucose, calcium, and total protein were normal. Kappa LC were 2.34 and went up slightly from last month but are down from the three previous months. Overall the Myeloma markers went up some but not that much from earlier in the late summer and early fall. I have now been off Velcade for 5 months now. Because there was no marked deterioration in my cancer numbers, I in consultation with my O/H decided to wait another month (actually 6 weeks) before making the decision to go back on chemo. During the spring and early summer, I took Velcade once per week and the cancer numbers stabilized with Igg being in the high normal range, M-spike at 1.1 and the Kappa LC being about 2.6-2.8. These numbers are not that far different than my most recent numbers. I guess I'm inclined to believe that if I go back on Velcade I will not achieve much improvement; nevertheless with these values I can live a more or less normal life. The neuropathy has lessened over the past 5 months; but it is still there.

My wife and I decided to take a cruise starting December 11, 2010, so I will be out of pocket for a while and not blogging.