With the diagnosis finally determined and my fractured vertebrae cemented back together, I was back to my oncologist for treatment. He was very optimistic about the prognosis, and although I had been a little shocked at the cancer diagnosis I wasn't overwhelmed this time. He graded the cancer at Stage 3, for whatever difference that makes. The standard therapy is to go on an oral chemotherapy for about 6 months to knock down the disease as much as possible, then hopefully move onto a stem cell transplant.
He also arranged for 10 radiation treatments to the repaired vertebrae in hopes of relieving some of the lingering pain. The kyphoplasty had done a great job with pain relief since there was no pressure on the nerves that almost kept me from walking previously. But the MM was still in the vertebrae and causing pain, so the radiation took care of the MM and knocked out a lot of the remaining pain and I was able to move pretty well again.
The primary part of the chemo was a drug called Revlimid, which is a cousin of Thalidomide, a drug that some may remember caused terrible birth defects several decades ago. I was prescribed 3 weeks at a time, then had to call into the manufacturer and answer questions to make sure I wasn't going cause any pregnancies (hah!). Then they authorized a special pharmacist to dispense another 3 weeks worth after I was off the drug for a week. I also was prescribed Dexamethasone which was supposed to improve the effectiveness of the Revlimid and help with nausea.
Ever since the the back pain started I had been on pain meds, mostly Oxycontin. All this and the pain caused a loss of appetite and some nausea, so I lost about 15 pounds (good). But I also could move only delicately for a long time so my energy and strength was severely affected. Finally in January the pain was mild enough that I could stop the Oxycontin, but with some difficulty. I understand drug addicts a lot better now; for me it was both a physical and psychological dependence after about 6 months on this stuff. But that's another story.
The Revlimid worked amazingly well. All the blood markers that the onc was watching went down every month. But I was warned that its effectiveness would last only about 6 months. Then we would apply for step 2 of the process, a Stem Cell Transplant. Scary!
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Posts
Posts
A description and reports of my fight against Multiple Myeloma.
Subscribe To
Posts
Posts
Blog Archive
A Little Background
- Allen in Decatur, Georgia
- Although this is a Myeloma-focused blog, you may be interested in knowing that this is not my first battle with the Monster. In 2001, at age 55, I was diagnosed with Advanced Prostate Cancer. That means metastatic, incurable but not untreatable, quality of life damaging, potentially fatal Prostate Cancer. So I've already been through the shock of figuring out that life will end, it's just a matter of when. Now the battle is on, facing two fronts. The PC has been under control although it's starting to reemerge a little recently. The MM is harder to control. If you're taking bets, I'd go with the MM. Just don't expect a payoff anytime soon...