Chemo maintenance – end of cycle 35
January 20th marked the end of my 35th cycle of post-transplant chemotherapy. I donated 5 vials of blood and a gallon jug of urine (24 hour urine collection) to the UofM Cancer Clinic, then met with Dr. Jakubowiak to assess my progress. All good news – the cancer remains in “complete remission.”
Yet another follow-up on my Adhesive Capsulitis (shoulder pain – aka “frozen shoulder”). You may recall that after a couple of months of Physical Therapy, my shoulders got better. Then I reached my maximum annual insurance payout for PT and discontinued PT. Guess what? My shoulders began to regress. Well, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” – and we did. Irene and I joined the gym associated with the PT facility and I have been exercising 3 times per week. Same place, same equipment, same exercise routines. Seems to be working because my shoulders are improving and are already a little better than they were even at the end of PT.
Some medical insurance news: on March 1st I become eligible for Medicare – due to the fact that I will have been considered “disabled” under the Social Security guidelines for 24 months. This means that my COBRA medical benefits from Burton Group expire and I will fall into the federal bureaucratic morass of Medicare Part A, B, C, and D, with associated Medicare Supplemental plans, and Medi-Gap insurance policies. Makes my brain hurt just thinking about it. Do you even know what the acronym COBRA stands for? Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. Now there’s a capitol hill mouthful for ya’!
NEWS FROM MY CLINIC VISIT
This was another boring clinic visit – no changes from the previous time.
More details about the experimental drug program in which I participated. Although I reported earlier that 3 of the participants have already emerged from remission, I learned Wednesday that those three went directly from chemotherapy to maintenance – no intervening Bone Marrow Transplant due to issues of age, strength, or complicating medical histories. All patients who had endured the transplant remain in remission. The Myeloma community now regards this study as a landmark event that has defined the new standard protocol for treatment of Myeloma. Talk about being in the right place at the right time!
MEDICATION CHANGES
No changes. Dr. J briefly considered changing my Revlimid dosing regimen but – hey, if it’s working, let’s not try to fix it.
SIDE EFFECTS
Neuropathy – Nothing new. The Revlimid chemo drug (taken in pill form) causes some pain and tingling in my feet. But the pain has either subsided or I’ve grown very used to it. Hardly noticeable these days.
Neutropenia – No news here. My immune system blood counts are inconsistent and unpredictable. Two sequential sets of lab work caused a small panic down in the cancer clinic – November’s numbers were 2.8 (well within the normal range for a human) followed by a December reading of 1.2 (dangerously low). However, a follow-up lab test ten days later showed my immune system recovering nicely at 2.6. We’re not sure what’s causing these wide swings but are encouraged that my body reacts and recovers without any medical intervention.
NEXT STEPS
Se don’t meet with Cancer Clinic staff again until mid-April, so my next blog posting won’t be until then.
That’s the latest news from Hamburg.
-larry