Chemo maintenance – end of cycle 40
July 7, 2010 marked the end of my 40th cycle of post-transplant chemotherapy. Irene and I visited the UofM Cancer clinic this morning for the usual lab work, 24 hour urine specimen, and a visit with Dr. Jakubowiak. Still very good news – the cancer remains in “complete remission.”
IMMUNE SYSTEM PROBLEMS
My immune system continues to be in lousy shape. During my previous maintenance cycle I suffered a few really bad colds; this cycle it was a bad case of diarrhea. After suffering for four days with no improvement we called the clinic and got the docs involved – and they prescribed some drugs that solved the problem. Not sure where I picked up that bug but it sure nailed me
NEWS FROM MY CLINIC VISIT
These immune system issues are a known side effect of the Revlimind chemotherapy drug that I’m taking. Aside from my primary medical problem – keeping the Multiple Myeloma in check – Dr. J’s biggest concern is avoiding any cuts, injuries, or exposure to germs that would cause me to become ill due to a compromised immune system. He’s decided to monitor my immune system a little more closely by increasing lab work (blood tests) to monthly – on the same day as when I pick up my monthly batch of Revlimid from the UofM pharmacy.
SIDE EFFECTS
The month-long vacation from Revlimid (discussed in my previous blog posting) was very nice. If there were ever any uncertainty whether Revlimid causes the neuropathy in my feet – this experiment proved it. The pain/discomfort completely disappeared for those 4 weeks. Today, just one chemo cycle into my new regimen of 5mg pills for 3 out of every 4 weeks… the neuropathy is back.
NEWS ABOUT THE CLINICAL TRIAL
If you’ve been following my blog for a while you know that my cancer treatment was part of a clinical trial of new drugs with new dosing levels. The results have now been published and you can read about it: http://abstract.asco.org/AbstView_74_52410.html
I told the folks at the UofM clinic that I copied/pasted the text into Babblefish, hoping to get an English translation! 😉
The disappointing/disturbing/unsettling news is that final line of the abstract (I italicized & bolded the key phrase). “Conclusions: Len-Bz-dex demonstrates favorable tolerability and is highly effective in newly diagnosed MM, with no impact seen from adverse cytogenetics on response or PFS, and similar outcomes with or without ASCT.” Translated this says that the RVD chemo cocktail I experienced was highly effective (hooray!), BUT there seems to be no remission difference between those patients who endured a Bone Marrow Transplant and those who did not. <arghhh!!!> Dr. J is very interested in seeing whether that distinction holds true 4, 5, 10 years post-transplant.
NEXT STEPS
I’ll have monthly lab work and continue on my new regimen until my next clinical visit with Dr. J in late September. Check back with my blog then…
That’s the latest news from Hamburg.
-larry