December 11, 2006

Myeloma is persistent. Whatever you do, it always figures out a way to come back at you. Until now, my only treatment for it was three months of thalidomide (50 mg/day) almost three years ago. Now it’s time for more.

I had the blood drawn last Monday, and saw the doctor today. He watches several cancer markers. Lambda light chains have been creeping up, and now they are five times the high limit of the “normal” reference range. The “M” spike, a good indicator of tumor burden, has bounced back up to the highest level ever, and beta-2 microglobulin is trending upward. The good news is that there are still no light chains detected in the urine, indicating that the cancer is still in an early stage.

Nevertheless, the doctor knows that I want to be proactive in averting tissue and organ damage, and he agrees. So I’m sitting here with a cardboard packet containing 28 thalidomide capsules, 50 mg each. I’ll start tonight, here comes the rash. More tests in five weeks, to see if the cancer is responding.