The latest news is that the main blood marker that they are
following to track the level of Multiple Myeloma, Free Lambda Serum, is now
within the normal range. Normal is 5.7 –
26.3. I started off at 1329. I am now 17.2. Huzzah!
The “normal” graph now looks like this:
My son Brian points out that each new reading is a fraction
of the prior value, so a logarithmic scale will show the relationships better:
The doctors were quite enthusiastic that I have made great
progress. I have reacted very well to
the treatments, and I am feeling quite well.
The only issues are some minor side effects: dry or infected eyes and
swollen ankles.
The eyes felt dry during
the day would generate all sorts of gloop and sleepers at night. The initial solution was erythromycin and hot
compresses. That worked for a while, but
because the erythromycin left an oil slick on my eyes, I stopped using it. Then it came back with a vengeance. The left eye got quite swollen and it looked
as if I had two stys on the upper lid.
The erythromycin seemed to have no effect. I went to see my ophthalmologist in Hudson,
and he looked things over. He confirmed
that the problem was just with the eyelids.
He said the pores between the eyelashes were all clogged with congealed
oil, which was leading to the swelling. He emphasized that frequent, very hot
compresses and eye massage were the solution to this problem. The erythromycin helps prevent new infection,
but has no effect upon the existing problems.
He recommended doxycycline, but he was unable to prescribe it. The doxycycline in effect lowers the
temperature at which the hot compresses are able to free the clogged pores,
thus expediting the process. So I
emailed the Physician’s Assistant, who prescribed it within the day. The eyes are now much better, and I do the
erythromycin at night, when it doesn’t really matter if I have an oil slick on
my eyes.
The swollen ankles continue to be a problem. I mentioned them to the medical people, and
it was interpreted as neuropathy. They
are very concerned about neuropathy, and as a result they reduced the dose of
Velcade from 2.7 to 2.1. But the
swelling persists. I bought what I
thought was a pair of ankle braces, only to discover it was just a single ankle
brace. There was only one in the store,
so I bought it. Barbie soon noticed that
it was a medium, and my foot/calf size calls for an extra-large. A series of phone calls to New Hampshire
pharmacies did not produce a source of extra-larges, so I had to deal with this
issue at home. There is a pharmacy in
West Concord that has all sorts of prosthetic devices, so I went there. The pharmacist had definite ideas about what
I needed, and they did not have the right thing in stock. It was ordered to arrive Friday, but it
failed to, so I may be able to pick it up on Monday. Meanwhile I am wearing the medium ankle brace
on one ankle at a time, and it is having half a good effect.
I also started physical therapy, with the same group/person
that was giving me physical therapy after my hip surgery. She has prescribed a series of simple
exercises to stretch out the muscles that hold my chest and back in a hunched
over position. It really feels as if
they are having a positive effect. I am
now walking without my cane and the back brace is now history, so I am feeling much better.
The outstanding question is what happens next. Do I continue with more cycles of chemo
therapy? Do they harvest my stem
cells? I have signed up for my 50th
high school reunion the weekend of 9/23, and once the transplantation process
begins, crowds of people represent a major danger. So the actual transplant will not occur until
after 9/23. But what we do up until that
time is still up in the air. 9/23 is the
middle of the 6th chemo-therapy cycle. Friday I only say my doctors in the hallway,
where they were effusive about how I am reacting to the treatments. But it was not the situation to discuss what
the next steps are. Ideally, that will
happen this coming week.
Meanwhile, life is back to something resembling normal. That included a project to install a light on
a tree outside the new waterfront shack.
The power to the shack was turned off, so I was using a hand drill to
tap a hole into the tree. At a certain
point I pulled the drill out, trying to pull the chips with it. Unfortunately, I pulled it out a little
vigorously, thus overbalancing backwards on the stepladder. So I tested my back and hip with a pretty
good fall onto the ground. They passed
the test! A little bruising and scrapes,
but no broken bones. Barbie informs me I
was very lucky, and immediately recruited Brian to finish off the job.
