February 4, 2010, end of Cycle 25:

This was another good visit. Not a GREAT visit, but a good one. A GREAT one would include a significant drop in M-Spike, and today's number was 1.0 g/dL, the same as the previous cycle. In fact M-Spike is only reported to the nearest tenth, because the test is not highly accurate, and the actual monoclonal proteins may have gone up a fraction of a tenth, because IgG increased 6% and Lambda light chains increased a little. But I'm still off DEX, and Dr. L pronounced the myeloma STABLE! When that changes there are lots of things to try, including going back to the DEX and possibly adding Biaxin. So far my only treatments have been thalidomide (years ago), pomalidomide, and DEX.

I'm still on a Phase II trial of pomalidomide, brand name Actimid, previously called CC-4047. It's a new IMID drug in the family which includes Revlimid and Thalomid (thalidomide). I get one 2-mg capsule of pomalidomide per day, every day, but no more DEX. I also take an aspirin every day to reduce the likelihood of a deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), which is one of the most-dangerous potential side effects of the pomalidomide. So far so good, no DVT. I go to Mayo Clinic every 28 days for blood tests and an exam. Pomalidomide is working for me, and the study so far shows that it has a lot of potential, even for patients whose myeloma is not controlled on other drugs. It's a drug we can live with.

Other pomalidomide side effects that I do experience: Other discussions with Dr. L: Some current test results:

Test    Nov 12    Dec 10    Jan 07    Feb 04     Remarks
M-spike g/dL 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.0 Best tumor measure
IgG mg/dL 1100 1090 1110 1180 Variation is normal
L FLC mg/dL 2.61 2.36 2.18 2.78 L Free light chains
Calcium mg/dL 9.8 10.0 9.6 9.8 Below 10.2 is best
Creat mg/dL 1.0 1.1 1.1 1.1 Kidney, normal
HGB g/dL 14.4 14.3 14.4 14.2 Hemoglobin, normal
RBC M/uL 4.00 4.00 4.05 4.00 Red cell count, low
WBC K/uL 3.9 3.7 3.5 3.8 White cells, low
ANC K/uL 1.53 1.55 1.38 1.22 Neutrophils, low & falling

Related links:

My Myeloma     A discussion of my myeloma, not very technical.
My Treatment History Not technical.
My Test Charts Graphic displays of several key test results over time.
My Test Result Table Best with a wide browser window. Quite technical.