It's not the news we were hoping for. After looking at all of the test results for the past year, and the blood tests that were taken at Dana Farber, the docs have put him back on Velcade, which is chemotherapy. Dave was a little surprised this morning when he went into the Cancer Center for his Zomeda injection. They told him that the Velcade was ordered and they may as well get it started. He will be having the chemo twice a week for two weeks with a week off in between for probably about 3 months. Dave really didn't indicate how bad it is, but the Myeloma is back enough to warrant chemo. Although this form of chemo is fairly mild, he still has some side effects. He has been on this before. No hair loss, though.
He may be in the 'early' stage of the Myeloma, which means that the chemo will knock it back. Dave still feels pretty good and is hopeful about the treatment. He's just a little be-miffed at how he came to this point after feeling so well for the past year. He was so close, having been cancer free from the stem cell transplant. But Multiple Myeloma is a sneaky, stubborn from of cancer.
Let's all keep those Happy Thoughts for Dave, that his treatment goes well without too much discomfort.
I will try to keep you as informed as I can.
Thanks for checking in.
Marilyn
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Dana Farber Docs Say 'Relax'
Dave's visit at Dana Farber went pretty well. He was sure that they would want to do another painful bone marrow biopsy and to his delight the Doc said 'not necessary'. They drew blood and are looking over all of his records from the past year from the Cancer Center and they said that they would get back to him on Monday with the results.
So far what we know is that Dr. Anamur was concerned about the spots on the MRI and the protein in the urine, the blood tests from the Cancer Center showed no change. The Doc at Dana Farber told Dave that the spots on the MRI could be just a bad reading. So Dana Farber at this point is going to look over all of those records and check the results of their blood test and let Dave know what the next step would be. The visit was very upbeat and it looks as though, IF, they find anything they will start him on some oral medication for now.
The Dana Farber staff wants to look into his bone issues to see if they can't do something more permanent to help with the pain. The bone discomfort that he is currently experiencing is different than what he had before. Dave, actually, feels soooo.. good right now, physically and mentally. That is a very good thing.
I will keep you as updated as I can.
Thanks again for your Happy Thoughts.
Marilyn
So far what we know is that Dr. Anamur was concerned about the spots on the MRI and the protein in the urine, the blood tests from the Cancer Center showed no change. The Doc at Dana Farber told Dave that the spots on the MRI could be just a bad reading. So Dana Farber at this point is going to look over all of those records and check the results of their blood test and let Dave know what the next step would be. The visit was very upbeat and it looks as though, IF, they find anything they will start him on some oral medication for now.
The Dana Farber staff wants to look into his bone issues to see if they can't do something more permanent to help with the pain. The bone discomfort that he is currently experiencing is different than what he had before. Dave, actually, feels soooo.. good right now, physically and mentally. That is a very good thing.
I will keep you as updated as I can.
Thanks again for your Happy Thoughts.
Marilyn
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