It's Worse Than we Thought.

Went to see the Radiologist today.  He's not concerned with the lesion on Dom's shoulder blade.  He showed us how the Myeloma is eating away at his vertebrae.

This is basically going on at the base of his neck:

Notice the bones missing on the right side (it should look like the other side)

So, they did another c/t scan and fit him for a mask in Radiation.

Doc is going to blast him 10 times in a row.

And THEN start Darzalex.

He said that after this treatment, we might consider going to a Neurosurgeon to have him put a plate in his neck.  But not now, as he'll be bedridden for a while and the MM will run rampant.

Radiation starts tomorrow.

And So it Continues. Dom Can't Catch a Break.

A few weeks ago, Dom had a full body CT Scan.  His shoulder has been KILLING him.

Multiple Myeloma can cause soft spots in the bone called osteolytic lesions, which appear as holes on an X-ray. These osteolytic lesions are painful and can increase the risk of painful breaks or fractures. Myeloma can also cause nerve damage or pain when a tumor presses up against a nerve.

Sure enough, they found a lesion on his left shoulder blade. 

Our team at the Slidell Cancer Center got the ball rolling quickly.  It all starts tomorrow with an appointment with Handsome Dr. M. who is our Oncologist Radiologist. 

He'll probably make a mold of Dom's shoulder blade and get started quickly.

Then Thursday, starting DARZALEX which isn't Chemotherapy, but rather a TARGETED Therapy that seeks out and destroys Myeloma cells.  We have to be at the Cancer Center for 7am *groaning*, and they expect it will be an 8-hour infusion.


INFO ON DARZALEX HERE

So, rolling right along, gang.  We're happy to get this crap started!

Saying Goodbye to 2018- It Was a Rough Year! (And a Big Scare Already This Year)

The past two years have been pretty rough here.  We were delighted to say goodbye to 2018!

Burning our Yule Log this year was very satisfying!

We had a real scare yesterday, but it was a false alarm.  Dom's ribs have been KILLING him.

Our Oncologist ordered a chest x-ray last week to rule out Bronchitis or Pleurisy.

It didn't show anything, so he sent us for a Bone Scan yesterday.  When we returned home, there was a message on our machine.  "Come in to talk to Dr. C. tomorrow morning.  The Bone Scan was ABNORMAL".

We called our "go-to" guy.  He said that Dr. C. wanted to discuss the bone scan with us.  There were multiple lesions on his ribcage. 

That flew us into a tizzy.  Dom decided that he wasn't going to get anymore Chemo.  We thought that maybe these were Plasmacytomas that could get blasted with radiation like with his hip.

We drove into Slidell all gloom and doom this morning, thinking that this was going to be yet another horrid year.

SURPRISE!  All is well with our world!

Our Oncologist told us that these were very small lesions, and Dom has always had various lesions.  (This was NEWS to us-  we were only aware of the large one on his left hip in May of 2017 ).  He wasn't concerned, as his blood and urine were clean 2 months ago.

He didn't think that our Radiologist would want to do anything but was going to have the guy compare this bone scan with his most recent MRI just to be sure.

So...  we are now back to normal!  M-Spike and Light Chain tests on Valentines Day.

Dom also told him that he didn't want anymore Chemo or Zometa.

Doc's going to order a follow-up Bone Scan in 6 months to keep an eye on things.

Here's hoping that 2019 will be a VERY GOOD YEAR!

Dom's Cancer is Back

Well, gang-  after complete remission for over 7 years, his MM has returned.

His blood work and bone marrow biopsy showed absolutely nothing alarming.  His hip had really been bothering him, so Dr. Safah ordered an MRI.

We went to see her on Thursday, fully expecting yet another clean bill of health.

NOPE.

The MRI showed a 9.3-centimeter lesion on his left hip.  (Measures 3.66 inches in diameter).

So, she calmly announced that he was to stay off of his tractor, watch how he sits down, etc.  She's afraid that he would suffer a broken hip.

Then went on to say that she was ordering 10 radiation treatments, 2 months of Chemo and ANOTHER Stem Cell Transplant.

Needless to say, my eyes filled with tears.  She smiled and sweetly said that she wasn't the least bit concerned.  He did so well last time and remained clean for so many years..... that he would breeze right through this.  She said that this time it would be much easier on his body.

We met with a Slidell Radiologist doctor and our Slidell Oncologist on Monday and Tuesday.  The Radiology department did a CT Scan and tattooed his hip.

Our Slidell Oncologist said that he suspects that this is a Plasmacytoma, as his bone marrow and blood wasn't the least bit alarming to them.

Radiation begins tomorrow.

This time around his Chemo will consist of Revlimid, Velcade, and Dexamethasone.

My tears have ceased and we're both very confident with our new team.  Dr. S. from Tulane told both of these Slidell doctors that he would zip right through this process.

After Radiation and Chemo, they'll gather his Stem Cells and the transplant will be done in New Orleans at Tulane.

This is all happening very quickly.  We walked around in a daze all weekend but hit the ground running on Monday.