October 7, 2011

Well it looks as if my 15 month reprieve from chemo may be coming to an end.

My Kappa Light Chains, which my O/H thinks are the best MM marker, increased from 2.56 mg/dl to 3.93 mg/dl. Lamda Light Chains were .56 mg/dl which also is an increase but the lower normal is .57 mg/dl.

The rise in the Kappa values is disturbing but at my O/H visit today, the following course of action was decided:
1. Immediately increase dexamethasome to 20 mg (10 mg, twice a week)
2. Do a new set of blood work to confirm if Kappa Light Chains actually are higher or whether the previous analysis is just an aberration.
3. If Kappa Light Chains actually are higher, then go back on chemo (probably Velcade on a once a week basis--higher dosages have caused me significant neuropathy).
4. If Velcade doesn't do much, consider using something different like Revlimid (Some chemo treatments become non-effective with time). On the other hand, if Velcade is reasonably effective, then continue and monitor.

I feel ok but hopefully I can nip this increase in the bud. I should have the lab results by the latter part of next week