We saw Dr. Hart, my hematology oncologist today to review results from the Siteman Center. Everything was pretty much as expected. General blood work was normal; my monoclonal, or M protein (one of the indicators used to monitor myeloma) was unchanged at 0.2. The higher the m protein, the more active the disease. The goal is to get the m protein to 0, so unchanged at 0.2 is good for now. The bone marrow biopsy indicated several chromosomal abnormalities, but no deletion of chromosome 13 or 17. Tida says she now has scientific proof that I'm abnormal. Funny girl.
So now it's time to start the next round of treatment. Dr. Hart said that Dr. Vij from Siteman was recently a speaker at a national conference on myeloma, is considered one of the top myeloma doctors around, and is on the leading edge of research and treatment, so she completely backs his recommendations.
I get a port-a-cath inserted in the upper chest near the clavicle on Monday. This will ease the administration of the chemo therapy and eliminate the need for IV's every 4 days. Chemo starts Tuesday morning. My schedule will be chemo every 4 days, off for 10 days, then start the cycle over again. It's anticipated that I'll need 2-4 cycles. Once the m protein reaches 0, we'll start preparing for a stem cell transplant. I'll receive 4 days of treatment to boost stem cell production, then 1 to 3 days to harvest enough stem cells for 2 transplants.
Once the stem cells have been harvested, I'll undergo high dose chemo meant to eliminate my bone marrow and immune system. Once it's been determined this process has been successful, they'll re-infuse my stem cells and start building back up my marrow and immune system. I'll be in isolation for 2 to 3 weeks during this stage, followed by a recuperation period at home.
Some pretty heavy stuff, and a far cry from what we expected back in March when we were thinking that radiation might be the end of treatment, but I'm still positive. In fact, I probably feel more positive today than I have for a couple of weeks. We finally have a diagnosis and a plan now that all the doctors are on and are confident of.
Now, it's game on. I'm ready!