I was quoted!
Author: Beth
I was diagnosed with MM in January of 2003. I underwent various treatments, including thalidomide/dex, revlimid/dex, dex alone, a clinical trial of CNTO 328, and Velcade, Doxil and dex until late August, 2007, when I had an autologous stem cell transplant after high dose melphalan. I experienced what's known as a very good partial response (VGPR). Since then, my myeloma has been stable.
We recently learned that our local oncologist is retiring. He’s 52 years old and has had it with the medical profession, citing increasing difficulties with insurance companies and litigious Americans as a few of the reasons for early retirement. I’m really going to miss him. He was probably the best doctor I ever had in my life. He shoots straight from the hip and tells it like it is.
I’ll continue with my quarterly visits to Duke and will see the replacement doctor at this local practice every few months.
No blood was drawn, so it’ll be September before I have any test results to share again. In the mean time, I’ll assume I’m still stable and myeloma will stay in the deeper recesses of my mind. It’s been a pleasure to have been treatment free for almost a year now. I still have myeloma, but it’s been sitting still.
ScienceDaily (2008-07-28) — An international team of scientists has identified processes that are heavily implicated in human multiple myeloma and other B cell cancers, moving us closer to developing quick tests and readouts that could help in the tailored treatment of patients.
“We already know that the over-expression or mutation of molecules known as NIK and TRAF3 in B cells is associated with human multiple myeloma,” said Professor Mackay. “Our collaborative research uncovered two distinct processes involving these molecules that help explain why.”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080729133616.htm
The news has been filled with reports about the death of Stan Winston from myeloma the last few days. I didn’t know who he was, but I saw many of the films on which he worked. As a myeloma patient though, I was more interested in his disease than his work. I wanted to know what treatments he had tried and how aggressive his cancer was. Where was he treated? Did he have a stem cell transplant? Did he have any remissions during that seven years?
None of my questions was answered. I think he may have been treated at the IMBCR, because I saw that listed as one of the preferred recipients of donations to be made in his memory.
This is a chart of my IgA values since before the SCT last summer. I stopped Velcade and Doxil in July, 2007 and the SCT took place at the end of August. This is quantitative serum IgA in mg/dL. The test on 10/11/2007 was the first one I had after stem cell transplant.
I’ve never once regretted having the SCT, and only wish I had done it earlier. In my case, nothing was keeping the mm under control for very long. The SCT has allowed me to be off treatment for 10 months now, which is a long time for me.
Duke allows me to look at my lab results online, and I’ve been waiting to see what my m-spikes are (I have two). So far, they’ve stayed under 0.5 g/dL when added together. That’s so much better than the 3.4 g/dL they were back in 2003.
The reference range at Duke’s lab for IgA is 46 – 287.
I’ve liked the B-52’s since I first heard them back in 1979. For some reason, it took me this long to go see them perform. I think everyone should see them! Buy their new CD, Funplex, and all the other ones, too!
I sneaked this quick video. It’s Cyndi Lauper introducing the B-52’s. Don’t tell anyone about this.
I was at the Cary Amphitheatre for the first time last week to see Duran Duran. It was a great show, and I loved the venue. I plan on going back in the future.
Duran Duran was fabulous! You know how some bands don’t sound like themselves at a live performance? I think some musicians have so much in the way of studio enhancements that they can’t match it when they play in front of a live audience. Duran Duran isn’t like that. They sounded great. They’ve been playing some of their stuff for nearly 30 years, so they’ve had a lot of practice.
They played a good mix of old and new songs. Is there anyone else who thinks Last Chance On the Stairway and Ordinary World are their best songs ever?
We all had a wonderful time, and I’m looking forward to doing it again soon. Thanks, everyone (MZ, TV, RS)! KF, it would have been so much fun if you could have made it. Maybe next time?
Here’s a blurry picture of the stage.