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At least the Velcade is working

It seems the second go around of Velcade plus Decadron is doing its job on Edie's myeloma. After just two treatments, her blood counts are improving, as is her kidney function.

So all would seem well again. Unfortunately that is never the case. As I've learned many times in the past, there always has to be some bad that goes along with the good.

If you remember from her first go around, it was the Velcade that caused Edie's peripheral neuropathy (PN), and now it seems see she is experiencing some additional PN, above and beyond what she already has been experiencing.

Plus last night, after her 3rd round of treatment, was a particularly trying one. She woke up around 12 AM with the shakes, and was not feeling so well. So she took a Lorazepam, and went down stairs to see if she could sleep on the recliner. A few hours later, when I went down stairs to see how she was doing, she seemed to be feeling a lot better.

The only problem now is she can't seem to stay awake for more than about 5 minutes at a time. I guess that Diazepam does its job as well.

So now the decision is whether to go through with her 4th [and last] treatment in the protocol, which is to treat on days 1, 4, 8 and 11, and then take 10 days off before beginning anew, or just take a few extra days off, and then start fresh again. The latter seems like the logical approach to me, but then I'm not the patient, and Edie does have an appointment with her oncologist on Friday (the scheduled day for her 4th treatment), so the decision can be made then when hopefully she's feeling even better.

And to think I thought deciding whether to continue working was a trying experience. Certainly that pales in comparison to what Edie is going through right now, and why I don't like even thinking about what it might be like should I have to begin treatment.

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Gary P said…
Marc, sorry to hear that you and your wife have to fight the Big C. I have multiple myeloma, and my wife has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and has gone through the lumpectomy and radiation. For a while I called us the Cancer Couple or the Tumor Twins. I saw you wife Edie is on Velcade and dex with some PN and did not know if you were aware that the PN is less if the Velcade is given subQ (or by injection under the skin). Most doctors now offer it that way. In Jan 2012 it was approved by the FCA for use subq. A link where you can find more is at:
http://myeloma.org/ArticlePage.action?articleId=3652
The grade 3 PN was only 6% on subq vs 16% for IV. Hope this helps. Also you can find some other good data on my web site www.myelomasurvival.com. I was always strong when it was just me, but when my wife got Cancer too, I just broke down. Good luck you two and God Bless you both in your Cancer Journey.
1:08 AM
Marc said…
Thanks Gary. Yes my wife is already on getting subQ Velcade. I'm just not convinced that works as well, as her numbers keep rising, albiet slowly. The doctor just increased the dosage, so I'm hoping that will help.

The other problem is her PN is getting worse, and she's thinking about upping the dosage of Lyrica from 100 mg to 150 mg. She's trying another drug, can't think of the name, to see if that helps. I'm thinking maybe she's becoming resistant to the Lyrica. She's been on it for about 3 years now.

You're right about how [relatively] easy it was when it was just me to worry about. But now with Edie, it does weigh on you a bit more.

Anyways, thanks again, and best wishes to you and your wife.
3:29 AM
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