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From Plasmacytoma to Multiple Myeloma

I never had such a sinking feeling in my gut, as I was driving my wife to Kaiser Sunset for her latest radiation treatment yesterday, and she told me her BMB was not negative. I'd been thinking this was going along so well, 5 treatments down and 17 more to go, before she was back to normal.

Now that has all changed. It was the radiation oncologist who called with the BMB report, and indicated that he would be increasing the dose of radiation but for less time (not sure the reasoning behind that), and when her oncologist gets back on Monday from vacation, they would discuss what other additional steps would/should be taken.

When I started this blog, it was meant to be an upbeat account of my trials and tribulations dealing with a diagnosis of Mantle Cell Lymphoma. Now it seems to be turning into anything but that.

Everything is moving so fast there just doesn't seem to be enough time to absorb all the information available. Everything I have learned and espoused in some of my earlier posts, is going right out the window because time is of the essence. I don't like giving full trust to the doctors without confirming what they are saying, but I am completely frustrated in deciding how to proceed.

Thirty plus years as a metallurgical engineer, has given me the analytical skills to look at a problem and decide how to proceed, but I've always had time to research and review before making any decisions. Even my lymphoma afforded me sufficient time to analyze and decide on a plan. But this is different, I don't feel as though we have the time, and for the first time in my life, I am simply overwhelmed.
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