Beth Morgan Multiple Myeloma Treatment Blog
My life as a myeloma patient for almost two decades
Not much is going on. I’m still in the TNB-383B trial. I’ve been receiving the drug since November, 2020.
I’ve had no noticeable side effects, which is nice. One thing that it does is knock my IgG abnd IgA way down. I’ve been having monthly IVIG for that reason.
for some time now, there’s been no m-spike detected.
I had blood drawn on 6/3, and got the results back today.
Test: Result (Normal Range)
IGG: 455 (600-1700)
IGM: 34 (35-290)
IGA: 466 (40-400)
This is from last time, so you can see there’s not much change!
IGG: 466 (600-1700)
IGM: 31 (35-290)
IGA: 408 (40-400)
I found a new web site that I’m still checking out. It has details about lab tests and other info.
http://www.clinlabnavigator.com/
Anyway, the doc says I’m still smoldering!
I was at Five Points Pet Resort a couple of weeks ago, where this green-winged macaw engaged us. He has a lot of personality!
Here are my latest results.
Test Name Result AB Normal Range Units IGG 466 L 600-1700 MG/DL IGM 31 L 35-290 MG/DL IGA 408 H 40-400 MG/DL
The SPE pattern demonstrates two bands of restricted mobility in the gamma region.
Monoclonal component typed as IgA Lambda. Concentration of monoclonal protein determined by serum protein electrophoresis is 0.4 g/dL.
Monoclonal component typed as IgA Lambda. Concentration of monoclonal protein determined by serum protein electrophoresis is 0.3 g/dL.
*Suggestive of a monoclonal component typed as IgG Kappa. Concentration of monoclonal protein is too low to accurately quantify.
* This is new! Previously, I’ve only ever had just two m-spikes. That’s not enough? I vaguely remember seeing this on one other report, so maybe it’s something that comes and goes. In any case, it’s not enough to measure, so I’m not alarmed.
Test Name Result AB Normal Range Units Kappa Free, Serum 0.1380 L 0.33-1.94 mg/dL Lambda Free, Serum 1.24 0.57-2.63 mg/dL K/L FLC Ratio 0.1113 L 0.26-1.65 mg/dL
Still, no myeloma treatment for over two years.
GENLAB Immunology: Final 06/01/2009 15:03
IMMUNOGLOBULIN PROFILE Reference IMMUNOGLOBULIN G *410 mg/dL [588-1573] TEST REPEATED TO CONFIRM NOTE: African-American reference ranges differ slightly from those listed. Please call the Immunology Lab at 684-6939 for race specific ranges. IMMUNOGLOBULIN A *432 mg/dL [46-287] TEST REPEATED TO CONFIRM IMMUNOGLOBULIN M *26 mg/dL [57-237] IMMUNOGLOBULIN E 30 IU/mL [4-269]
Lab Report: Final 06/01/2009 14:36
SERUM PROTEIN ELECTROPHORESIS Reference SPE INTERP COMPARED TO 2/10/09, NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN PREVIOUSLY CHARACTERIZED (2) IGA-LAMBDA COMPONENTS FROM 0.21 TO 0.25 AND 0.14 TO 0.19 G/DL. "I have personally performed the interpretation". Dr. S. Pizzo, MD,PhD SPE TOTAL PROTEIN 6.8 g/dL [6.0-8.0] SPE ALBUMIN % 65.6 % SPE ALBUMIN 4.46 g/dL [3.97-5.34] SPE ALPHA 1 % 2.9 % SPE ALPHA 1 0.20 g/dL [0.11-0.32] SPE ALPHA 2 % 10.5 % SPE ALPHA 2 0.71 g/dL [0.40-0.88] SPE BETA % 11.3 % SPE BETA 0.77 g/dL [0.60-1.02] SPE GAMMA % 9.7 % SPE GAMMA 0.66 g/dL [0.53-1.37] SPE M-SPIKE 1 % 3.7 % SPE M-SPIKE 1 0.25 g/dL SPE M-SPIKE 2 % 2.8 % SPE M-SPIKE 2 0.19 g/dL
I don’t have a lot to blog about here because my myeloma has been stable since last fall. There’s not much there at all. If you don’t have myeloma, I have only a little bit more than you do.
These labs were done 12/08/2008
IFE SERUM (2) MONOCLONAL IgA-LAMBDAS DETECTED BY IFE. SPE M-SPIKE 1 0.17 g/dL SPE M-SPIKE 2 0.12 g/dL IG FREE LIGHT CHAINS SERUM Reference IG FREE LIGHT CHAIN KAPPA *0.16mg/dL [0.33-1.94] IG FREE LIGHT CHAIN LAMBDA 1.85mg/dL [0.57-2.63] IG FLC KAPPA/LAMBDA RATIO *0.09 [0.26-1.65] IMMUNOGLOBULIN PROFILE IMMUNOGLOBULIN G *374mg/dL [588-1573] TEST REPEATED TO CONFIRM IMMUNOGLOBULIN A *415mg/dL [46-287] TEST REPEATED TO CONFIRM IMMUNOGLOBULIN M *31mg/dL [57-237] TEST REPEATED TO CONFIRM IMMUNOGLOBULIN E 13 IU/mL [4-269]
On the mailing list we had a discussion about bone disease in MM. Here’s what Nancy said about it. I hadn’t realized before that IgA patients are less prone to bone disease. One of my doctors did tell me we’re more likely to have kidney involvement though.
Some people never have bone disease…that’s just the way their myeloma is; just as some people never have kidney problems. The names given to the variations of myeloma are not different. Patients with IgA myeloma are less likely to have bone disease than those with IgG myeloma…and those with IgG myeloma are less like than those with IgA myeloma (or Bence Jones myeloma) to have kidney problems.
Perhaps by “classic myeloma” they are referring to myeloma that is in the bone marrow…as opposed to extramedullary myeloma which is outside the bone marrow….rather than affecting the bones. However, about 80% of patients do have bone involvement, so it is the most common symptom of myeloma.
For more information about multiple myeloma, visit the IMF web site:
http://myeloma.org
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.