I can’t believe it. Another year is almost over.
I haven’t written much in the last several days. A lot’s been going on, but I haven’t had time to write. And, my typing finger is sore from work. :)
I had an appointment with Don Gabriel, a transplant doc at UNC. He’s a very nice guy, and I liked him instantly. I’ve been researching a potential problem he brought up, but have discovered that it’s not a problem at all. Some doctors believe that, to have a successful stem cell transplant, the cells must be harvested when the % of plasma cells in the bone marrow is below a certain number (like 20%). Mine were at 30% at the time of my harvest. I was very worried that I might have to go through the harvest process again, but I put in an SOS to the IMF and was assured that I’ll be ok to go ahead without a second stem cell collection by members of the scientific advisory board. Now my questions are: Do I have to have more treatment before the SCT? Can I use just melphalan alone, since cytoxan didn’t have any effect on my myeloma?
I’m scheduled to begin Velcade + Doxil and possibly dexamethasone on January 9th, 2007. Of course, I’d be happy to find out that I didn’t need additional treatment before the high dose chemo, but I’m guessing it’s not likely. It’s all getting closer, and I’m nervous and afraid.
In the mean time, I’m going to try to forget that I have cancer. I’m just going to enjoy this treatment-free time.
Oh! For those of you who wonder about this… when you stop dexamethasone, you do lose weight (if you gained it from the steroids). Without trying, in my case, which is cool. I still have the moon face. I wonder how long it takes for that to go away? Anyway, I lost just under 25 lbs so far. I’m guessing the chemo and the SCT will melt away the pounds as well, but I don’t recommend it!
Amneris Solano, thanks for the very nice article you wrote in the Fayetteville Observer. Thanks, Matt Moriarty, for the article you wrote for the Pilot. I hope we’re successful in raising the money we need for the IMF.