I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for not maintaining my blog as well as I should. It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve added anything new. I’ve had a lot going on but I promise to try to do a better job of updating this spot of the Internet.
So what’s new? In June 2018 I posted that I was undergoing treatment for Multiple Myeloma, a cancer of the blood. In that post I mentioned that my blood levels were once again beginning to rise, a sign that the cancer was adapting to the treatment regimen. Recently, the blood levels were taking wild swings, both up and down. Those swings were a clear indicator that it was time to change the treatment regimen.
The old treatment regimen was a daily chemotherapy drug in pill form. It was really convenient but I had been on the drug for nearly seven years, which is a long, long time with Multiple Myeloma. Eventually the cancer cells mutate and the treatment becomes less effective.
We’ve moved on to a relatively new drug called Daratumamab, commercially known as Darzalex, used in conjunction with a protreasome inhibitor called Velcade. I’ve tried to keep up to date on new advances in the treatment of the disease and Daratumamab is one of the most promising drugs available, so I was happy when we went in this direction.
Daratumamab is not a chemotherapy, but is a monoclonal antibody. Basically, it’s an immune system protein that attaches itself to the cancerous protein and either destroys it or allows another therapy, in my case a proteasome inhibitor called Velcade, to destroy the cancer cells. It’s a two-pronged attack and has proven to be very effective. Keep in mind that it’s not a cure for Multiple Myeloma; at this time there’s no such thing. It does buy you time, though, and over time new, more effective treatments become available, and there’s always the possibility of a cure in the future.
I schedule my visits early in the morning. I like it as I’m frequently the only patient for the first hour or so. The nurses are great and I have quiet time to just read or even nap. It could be worse.
There are negatives to the treatment regimen. It’s an infusion drug, so for three to six hours each week I’m sitting in the clinic with an IV in my arm. After the first nine weeks, the treatment will go to bi-weekly, and after six months it becomes monthly, so it does get better.
Any time you have an IV inserted there can be some pain involved but it’s minor relative to the benefits of the treatment. The worst part, for me, is the grand finale, in which the tape is ripped from my arm. I’m pretty hairy and tape is not my friend.
Here’s a little story that I find really funny. My wife and I went to a Thai restaurant once. The waiter looked at me, looked at my arm, said “Fur!” and started petting me. I’d never been petted before, so it was strange, but it was also hilarious. I guess you had to be there.
The biggest negative, to me, is that due to the large amount of steroids they give me to fight off any adverse effects during the infusion, I can’t sleep. It usually lasts just the one night and, again, it’s a small price to pay relative to the benefits.
The last negative is that around three days after the treatment I feel terrible. I kind of see it as a war going on inside my body between the good proteins and the bad proteins, and I suspect it’s related to the body count of the bad proteins as the good proteins attack and kill the bad guys. Since I usually feel bad for around a day, I can live with that. Go good proteins!
I’ve been through four weekly treatment sessions so far and the initial results are promising. After the first two weeks my M-Spike, which is basically the bad protein level, dropped about 30 percent. That’s a significant decrease and one that gives me hope. My hope is that the downward trend in the protein count continues and that we can postpone a second stem cell transplant, which is a possibility, for as long as possible.
So that’s why I’ve fallen behind in my posts but I will try to keep it updated. Thanks for following and have a great day.
Mostly True 