Ready? Earlier this year, for several months I thought I was just getting some type of cramps or pulled a muscle, but the pain was slowly getting worse. During my annual physical exam, I told my provider that I was having pains, and he checked and said we needed an ultrasound. So we went and got that, and they said I had these blasted hernias! I asked if I needed surgery and the answer was it depends on how much it hurts or interferes with things. Well, as time went by it hurt more and more and was interfering in my ability to work and do things. So, back to see the surgeon. He agreed surgery would be helpful, but when I reminded him of my myeloma and low platelets, he said, "No, you probably need robotic surgery, and I don't do that, but we'll refer you to the person who does." Which he did. Things were getting worse now, so we scheduled as quick an appointment with the new surgeon as we could.
Patty went with me, and we were waiting in the exam room when he came in, medical student in tow. He was wearing cowboy boots, funky glasses, western shirt, and a long ponytail. He looked like a country singer taking a break during a concert! But he was very nice, examined me and said, "Yup. You need to have those fixed, and we'll do it via robot to reduce the blood problem. Let's get you scheduled." They also would give me two units of platelets, which to be honest I started looking forward to. But I realized I would have to wait for weeks or months to get the surgery scheduled, meaning I'd have to live with that pain even longer. Then Patty said, "How about tomorrow?" The surgeon gave us a look and said, "No, no, I'm sorry." Then he paused and was thinking. He looked at us again and said "Maybe!" We went out and spoke with the nurse, they got things going, and we were scheduled for surgery the next morning. Yowza.
I didn't even get to me the robot who worked on me; I called "The Non-Terminator". But recovery took a bit, and I still have some significant inflammation going on, but the pains I was having are gone, and I'm feeling better. So Patty has taught me a good lesson -- don't assume, and it is worth asking about tomorrow when you're talking to a surgeon!
So, yeah, this has been quite the summer and then fall semester.
So what's the latest on the cancer?
I had my 2nd review this year in November. Across many of my labs, not much different: low white cell counts, low red blood cell counts, low hematocrit (volume of red blood cells to total blood volume), platelets back to their terribly low 53 number (remember the bottom of the "normal" range is usually 150.....). So those two units are gone now. :( Kappa light chain ratio to lambda chains abnormally high, but not the highest it has ever been. The worst result? My M-spike, the main marker we watch, is up to 1.4. When I was first diagnosed it was 1.7 back in ol' 2014.....it was at 1.9 when I began chemotherapy.
To think of it another way, over the past 7 years, my M-spike has very slowly risen from 0.3 after my transplant to 1.0, making for an average slow increase of around 0.1 per year. This year, 2022, it has gone up 0.4 total in one year -- 4x the rate from before. Yes, we are still below when I was diagnosed which is a miracle, but it was 1.2 in May and 6 months later, 1.4. If put this on one of my usual curves, that's a pretty steep rise. If it keeps this up, next May, we'll be at 1.6......
As I said in my May blog, I can feel it. Yes, this has been a very stressful 2nd half of the year and that could be contributing to this, but......I'm more tired than I have been, and especially -- my back is hurting much more than it has for a long time now. I don't know if I'm getting turmors back in my lower back like I had before or not, or if this is just from sitting too long trying to get final papers and projects graded, but I'm in more pain. So, here's how I feel:
We'll see what happens in May. In the meantime, spring semester should be a bit calmer. I'm teaching 3 sections of the same class with at least two of them livestream which reduces my grading burden (no online discussions). We still have some tenure-related issues to go over and write about, and scheduling won't be any less, but I think I'll make it. So prayers and best wishes are ALWAYS appreciated, and I thank you all for the love and support I receive from you. In the meantime, I wish you all a wonderful Christmas day and a Happy New Year celebration. Thinking of the birth of Jesus Christ helps me to remember to be humble and to appreciate every blessing that comes to us. Merry Christmas!
