Last update for 2007

Almost a month has gone by since the last update. I have learned to accept the slow pace of decisions and actions in the medical business. As I wrote before, I am in a marathon which I intend to win. Having said that, it will take time, ups and downs, time to push and time to pull.

One of my important friends - . . . . . . . . . Shoshy's birthday

the BlackBerry

This year we have lots of snow . . . . . . . . .Chanukah at home with friends

Until two weeks ago I had no side effects whatsoever. While this was very good for my feeling and mobility, there was a constant worry "is the treatment really working?". Now I can confidently say that it does work! I can feel every bone in my body. Walking, getting dressed, standing up - become a painful challenge. I never thought that putting on socks will be so tiring and difficult. With the Boston area covered with snow and ice, walking is a delicate act of shifting balance in perfect timing. Falling is not an option! Can't happen! The doctors whom I talked to are satisfied. The painful bones is kind of expected. I'll have to get used to taking everything slowly and easy. For me this is probably the biggest change: let others do things for me, even simple tasks. Lucky for me, my appetite is not adversely affected: I eat very well (Shoshy's cooking!!!), and munch a lot in between meals. This actually helped me to gain weight!

The past two weeks allowed me to experience how handicapped people cope with their limitations and how others treat them.
Out of pure concern for me, friends have offered help in many ways to make it easier for me. I am very thankful for all the help I got so far and since I am in a marathon, for sure I'll need more help down the road.
At the same time doing as much as I can helps my morale and sense of business as usual.
For sure there is a delicate balance between taking a risk and the daily chores.
I am working from home most of the time and go to the office whenever possible.

On the medical front, the latest results are in the right direction. It looks like the treatment is working. The plan is to continue the treatments, maybe with some changes, until a stem cell transplant procedure can be performed. Nobody can put a timeline, but the notion is that it is a matter of a least few months. With Inbal coming back from Uganda, we'll be a family of 5 under one roof, which is a rare event. I look forward for the coming months where I have the entire family behind me on my way to full recovery.To all of you, have a great 2008, a healthy and a peaceful year.

Yours, optimistic as usual,

Guy

P.S.The link below shows a short video clip with a doctor from Mayo Clinic who explains what is Myeloma, treatments, etc.It is short and easy to understand. Click on the picture on the right, then select the type of player you use.

http://myeloma.org/main.jsp?menu_id=0&tab_id=1&type=ARTICLE&id=601

Medical Update

The main purposes of my blog were sharing and updating. With so many medical questions coming from many friends, I have decided to get serious (for a change) and explain in plain language what's going on with my treatments. This will save me from re-explaining to all. Whoever wants to know more, be my guest and just ask.
As we speak I am in a hospital in Boston and getting a blood transfusion which will take 5 hours. Thanks to free wireless and my old faithful laptop, I can do something productive (like work and write this update) instead of watching the red drops go down into my body.

The treatment for Multiple Myeloma has got a lot better in the last 3 years or so. The standard procedure is some kind of special chemotherapy in cycles. Each cycle spans over 21 days where I get 4 treatments over 12 days, then 10 days off. This is followed by another cycle and repeated. At the moment I am in the middle of cycle-2.
Each treatment consists of Velcade and other medications. The Velcade was developed in Boston and tested by the team in Dana Farber Cancer Institute where I am being treated. It is the only target medication that exists specifically for Myeloma.
It can't get better than that. The Velcade is administered in a hospital via IV while the other medications are taken at home (pills of many colors and shapes in quantity and order that you need an Excel file to manage the schedule...).
The whole process is a closed-loop operation. Meaning, based on each cycle's results, the medical team decides how to continue and the options are:
1. No change
2. Change mix
3. Change medications

The ultimate goal is to get into remission. It is quiet difficult to achieve that without a Stem Cell Transplant. With some of the experimental drugs (currently in phase-3 clinical trials) it has been achieved. However, in most cases, the stem cell transplant is required.
When the amount of the "bad cells" will get low enough thanks to the treatment cycles, stem cell transplant becomes possible.
The process is simple but somewhat risky:
1. Hospitalization for a few weeks in a bubble - complete isolation. I already asked - wireless works!!!
2. Drawing of stem cells from my own blood and putting this blood aside for later usage
3. Using aggressive chemotherapy completely eliminating the existing bone marrow and the immune system
4. Getting back my blood with good stem cells
5. Crossing everyone's fingers...

If all goes well, it is possible to achieve a remission shortly after this process. A typical remission in Myeloma is a few years.
Then, the cycle repeat itself.

So why am I getting the 3rd blood transfusion? Well, my red cell count is so low that the doctors don't really understand how I am live-and-kicking, driving, working, etc. Nevertheless, they don't want to take a chance and decided to give me a boost. So in a few hours when I drive home, I'll do so literally with New Blood!

This is it in simple terms. As you all know me well, I have read and studied the whole subject in great details, but for you my friends what I gave you is just about right.
Take care.
Yours, optimistic as usual,
Guy