Day 98 - Revised Test Results

I found out yesterday what I was told about a 50% reduction in plasma cells was wrong. There has been almost no reduction. I had 40% plasma cells in my bone marrow before the stem cell transplant. The 3/20/06 bone marrow biopsy diagnosis was 30 to 40% plasma cells, slightly lower than it was last December. The silver lining around the dark cloud is that the plasma cells are almost not multiplying. They appear to just be sitting there taking up space. This is being referred to as a plateau. The doctors at Mayo are hoping the plateau will remain for as long as possible. I will be going to Mayo clinic at least every six months for a check up so the doctors can gauge the progress of the disease and recommend further treatment when the time is right.

I would like to try to clear up some confusion if possible. When I was first diagnosed with multiple myeloma, I wanted to know the cure rate. The response to that was a blank stare followed by the statement, "It is not curable." It is bad enough to be told you have cancer but then to be told it is incurable. Don't get me wrong, I can still count my blessings because there are much worse diseases than what I have. For that matter, God could have taken me when I was a teenager. He had plenty of opportunities I am ashamed to admit. So, if you have the idea that the goal of the stem cell transplant was to cure the disease, I am afraid you are mistaken. If you can't stop a speeding locomotive, the next best thing is to slow it down. In other words, we are trying to keep what I have in the "chronic" category as long as possible so I can continue to live with it as long as possible. A miracle would be gladly accepted however.

"Myeloma" means cancer of the marrow. In other words, you have all these useless gamaglobulin cells (also known as plasma cells) which will not die as they are supposed to do because for some unknown reason they have mutated. They just continue to multiply until they fill up the bone marrow space. The speed at which they multiply is called the plasma cell labeling index and is expressed as a percentage. The proliferation of plasma cells crowds out the useful cells which produce red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells. And as you know, a person can't live without a good supply of each of those. So, if you are confused about what plasma cells are and what role they play in the disease, maybe this information helps a little.