I got some new bangles yesterday at my oncologist appointment. Aren’t they nice?!

Here’s a detailed update from the visit:

First of all, my cancer is stage 2 (out of 3), which I expected. But the doctor doesn’t really worry so much about the stage. His greatest focus, and what determines the treatment course is that I am high risk. That has to do with a deletion in my chromosomes that are meant to suppress tumors. What it means for treatment is that the drugs that are commonly used to kill the cancer cells may not work as well in me. I may need a higher dose or a different combination of drugs, or it may just take longer to do the job. It could also mean that the cancer doesn’t stay in remission as long as they would expect a lower risk patient to.

Because of this, they can’t really give me a good time estimate for the treatments to work, and for me to have a possible stem cell transplant. After two months of treatment, they’ll test me and see if it’s working as well as they want it to, and if not, they’ll tweak the drugs or dosages, etc. The doctor says he’s still confident he can get me into remission. His challenge will be getting me there as quickly as possible and then keeping me there as long as possible.

I start treatments on Thursday, and they’ll be weekly on Thursdays for at least 4 months. That will consist of subcutaneous (just under the skin, into the fat layer) infusions, an injection, and pills. All these together will kill the cancer cells and strengthen my bones so the tumors are all filled back in with bone tissue and not so brittle. The side effects are not serious for most people. I can expect a fair amount of fatigue (that is universal among cancer patients), and maybe a few other things like a rash or diarrhea or the like. But not hair falling out, vomiting, unable to eat, etc. They said that I’ll know what side effects I’m going to have within the first two treatments, and they’ll help me manage those with other drugs or over-the-counter medicine.

All in all, it’s about what I expected, and I am feeling fine about it. It isn’t good news, but modern medicine is amazing and we have been blessed with the ability to manage feelings and new things as they come. I just want it to get going, so maybe I can get some relief from the bone pain I deal with every day and get to the remission part as soon as my body will allow.

I hope each of you can feel the calm and peace that we feel. We trust God, we have seen great miracles in our behalf, we have great medical care, and wonderful family and friends that strengthen us in many ways. Thank you for adding your love and kindness to our very blessed lives.