Day + 12 -- bring on the germs!

Okay, I have an immune system again.

White count is up to 6.16. High enough to ward off germs, and most importantly high enough to avoid the need for another Neupogen shot!

Hemoglobin is up to 8.8. Other than after receiving blood, since beginning treatment I have not experienced rising Hemoglobin. Could it be that my new marrow is actually making red blood again, and there aren't enough malignant plasma cells to get in the way? Time will tell.

Platelets still languishing at 31, but without the dreaded Neupogen shot to stunt their rebound, they should start springing back up.

All my chemistry is good, although Potassium slipped a bit so I am back on the potato diet this evening, and probably tomorrow. They even gave me a day off from any kind of infusion -- I will go back Thursday, Saturday and then early Monday AM so BB has the most recent lab data to work from during my discharge appointment with him at 10:30.

I also got a partial update of tumor markers. IgG is down to 1430 from 1600 a couple of days before. Getting close to normal ranges! It will all depend on the M spike, of course, which is unfortunately still in the lab. Lambda free light chains are squarely normal. Beta-2 Microglobulin, which is something that is normal until Myeloma causes it to rise to high levels, has fallen from 2.4 (versus normal range of 0-2) to 1.3 from the start of treatment.

I won't be happy until that M-spike is totally gone, and my guess is right now it is probably at 1.1 or so. But I am getting very close to being in what would clinically be defined as "very good partial remission." That's not the gold standard but it is a damn good start!