I just got email from a nurse at Wake Forest:
Your IgA was >805, M-spike is back already and shows spike in beta gamma of .30, and gamma of 0.18.
I’m sure the “>” is a typo. The lab report gives a distinct value when the number is that much. The only time I’ve seen such a thing is when my IgM, for example, was too low to measure. The lab reported “< 6." Anyway, next month we'll schedule the stem cell collection. My doctor said I can take a little break after that. My IgA and m-spikes have been going up the last 2 months and were stable the 2 months before that. My lowest m-spike during this treatment was 0.3 g/dL and the lowest my IgA got was 489 mg/dL. So, in a few months' time, the m-spike has gone up to .48 and the IgA to 805.
Do you subscribe to the myeloma minute?…it has good info. One recent article is below:
Specific killing of multiple myeloma cells by (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate extracted from green tea: biological activity and therapeutic implications
(This can be bought from a Santa Barbara company as EGCG)
I take 1 per day…I’ll try anything.
G’day Beth
Interesting to read your experiences. My current paraprotein level is 18 or 19 g/l which I obtained today and will cause me to be kicked out of a clinical trial of Denosumab due to progression. So this Friday I will be discussing with my guru the next level of treatment (probably thalidomide).
Good luck with the stem cell collection (easy) and the transplant (hard). My transplant treatment went really well with no infections, but it had no effect on the Myeloma. 10 g/l before transplant, 10 g/l after. Its a scary disease, but I actually feel great (much better than the zombie I was at diagnosis).
My details:
Age – 52
Home – S/E Australia, east of Melbourne in the bush.
Date of diagnosis – 17/3/05 (paraprotein 42 g/l)
Job – Electrical Engineer with the power company
Family – wife + 2 sons + dog