So I had my most recent checkup on October 21. This was accompanied by my favorite Vitamin Z treatment (Zometa). I don't know why, but it usually does not strongly hit me for a day or two. You think I would be used to that by now, but like a board game where you think you are ahead and then everyone zooms past you at the last moment (believe me it happens to me a lot), the Zometa always hits me pretty hard just when I think I've got it down. No exception this time......I'm just glad that is over for another 2 1/2 months.
"Went to the doctor and the doctor said......" So what did the NP say?????
Good News and not quite so good news. Usually folks want to hear the good news first, and it is very good.
(Have I built up enough suspense yet?)
THE GOOD NEWS (and I'm not talking about the gospel here.....)
After reviewing my most recent bloodwork, she said it appears that I am still stable, and she does not see the need to resume chemotherapy at this point. She wants to continue with the every 3 months Zometa treatments and the every 6-month check-in with her. So that is GR8! I was a bit worried before I saw the blood results on Sunday night that we might be heading in that direction. I have been more fatigued and hurting a bit more in back and joints. Maybe I'm just getting old..........
NOT QUITE SO GOOD NEWS:
She said I'm still anemic and that might account for my fatigue. She encouraged me to continue attempting to exercise. What I've been doing lately, because our old dog Andy sometimes is sleeping when it is walk-time, I've been talking the less old and more sprightly Belle out and trying do so some interval jogging. This sometimes leaves me a bit sore and hurting (like today), but it is my attempt to do something. I also take the stairs rather than the elevator at work if it is only a couple of flights. No need for clapping, I realize I'm really on the cutting edge of fitness, here.......
However, looking at my blood results also has some wrinkles in it, and she noted these. For example:
Here is my latest graph of my abnormal Myeloma protein (or M-spike) data:
This chart is data from about November, 2017 to now (October, 2019). The M-spike looks pretty stable around 0.9 to 1.0, but is also at an overall higher level than it was before. Still.....it is moving very slowly (sloth-speed I call it). Also, the average of all M-spike scores before Nov 2017 was 0.77; since Nov 17, it is 0.93. We'll keep an eye on it -- that is over a two-year period, after all.
My Red Blood Cell counts are next -- low RBC defines anemia.
This is over the same time period as above -- not a terrible drop, but there is a fairly clear downward trend. Will that continue? Who knows?
The biggest worry has become my Light Chains numbers. They have been in trouble before, but with one exception (April, 2018), even when my Chain scores have been elevated (bad), the ratio was within the normal range (good!). This reflects the relative balance between the two major kinds of Light Chains. In my last visit, she expressed some concerns about these because the ratio has shifted into the "abbey normal" range. Since April, 2019 I have had elevated Kappa chains, and since July, the ratio has also been above normal following a period of two years when they were in the normal range (with that one exception). This could mean progression of the cancer is coming and continued pattern of this could potentially damage my kidneys. The good side of this is that the ratio did drop slightly from July and is not way above the "abnormal" line; I think that is why she wanted to keep on the current schedule.
| Overall Lamba/Kappa Lt Chain Ratio Average: | 1.42095238 | ||||||||||||||||
| Average before Nov2017: | 1.36916667 | ||||||||||||||||
| Average after Nov 2017: | 1.49 | Increasing | |||||||||||||||
| "Normal" is a ratio of 1.65 | |||||||||||||||||
| My last two ratings: 1.71 and 1.67 | |||||||||||||||||
So -- better news than I expected in some ways. As always, some things to worry about. Sometimes people have thought that I am in remission.......but sadly, no. As you can tell from my red blood counts, that does not look like remission. And I didn't even show you the white blood counts!
So, as the Brits would say: Tally ho! Carry on! As the Lord said, "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof". I will value each day, do what I can knowing I'll have better days and bad days, keep working on what I can do, and play as many games as I can! :) I will love my wife and family, and I greatly appreciate the support, prayers, name in the temple, and the physical assistance that I get when needed. Thank you all for your love and concern. I'll try and write a bit more often in the months ahead.
And it HAS been five years since I was diagnosed --- what a blessing, indeed!!
-- Anton
