Best Possible News

Well, the BEST possible news would be if the cancer magically disappeared, but I haven't seen anyone walking on water lately except the locals who fish through the ice. Otherwise the news is all good: This was the 39th cycle of the pomalidomide drug study at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Pomalidomide and dexamethasone brought my M-spike down from 2.7 to 1.0 g/dL in just a few months, and has kept it stable since. According to one famous doctor (I can't remember who), stable disease is almost the same as a complete remission. I'll remain on the study, of course, because no one believes that the myeloma will sit still without the pomalidomide.

Happily, the dexamethasone was gradually reduced, and finally stopped over a year ago, and the pomalidomide has been on its own since then. I have mild side effects: Slight neuropathy in fingers and feet, and a reduced heart rate which affects running but nothing else. There is also a risk of deep-vein blood clots, for which I take an aspirin daily. I am happy to accept those risks and side effects in exchange for symptom-free myeloma.

Kudos to Mayo Clinic:

All of the tests, including all of the blood tests, an electrocardiogram, the DEXA scan, and the PET scan, were done in one day, with all results available by the end of the day. What a place. It sounds like bragging, I guess, and perhaps it is, but really I wish everyone could live close to a medical center like Mayo Clinic. I feel blessed.

Actually, I did have the CBC with differential done on the previous day, not because Mayo would have any problem with it but because my neutrophil count is always higher in the afternoon, and my other blood tests are done in the morning. It worked again - the neutrophil count has to be at least 1000 lil' soldiers per microliter, or I have to stop the study for a while, and they were 1610.

Doctor RH:

Dr KDS is gradually going away, which we lament, but alas, it will really happen. She stopped by today, but for most of the appointment we saw Dr RH, who did an excellent job in her stead, of course. We discussed: Some Current Test Results:

Test    Dec 16    Jan 13    Feb 07    Mar 09     Remarks
M-spike g/dL 1.0 1.2 1.0 1.0 Best tumor measure?
IgG mg/dL 1080 1170 1200 1050 Best tumor measure?
L FLC mg/dL 2.41 2.49 2.47 2.50 L Free light chains
Calcium mg/dL 9.8 10.3 10.1 9.6 Dandy
Creatinine mg/dL 1.0 1.4 1.0 1.0 Kidney, OK
HGB g/dL 14.6 15.3 16.0 15.2 Hemoglobin, good
RBC M/uL 4.23 4.48 4.44 4.40 Red cells, marginal
WBC K/uL 5.1 3.3 4.1 5.3 White cells, OK
ANC K/uL 2.50 1.19 1.40 1.61 Neutrophils, sufficient

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 Somewhat technical. Best with a wide browser window.
My Supplement Regimen With links to where I buy them.