Test results in, and the are GOOD!

Hello people.

Getting ready to depart Little Rock. It was a very successful little trip!

First, my test results, furnished rapidly, in detail, and without me having to ask for them.

* Blood:
- White count up to 4.52 (in response to my cold, which is going away with the help of Augmentin, a strong oral antibiotic)
- Hemoglobin is 12.9, a little on the low side but to be expected given the Revlimid
- Platelets at 116, same comment
- RDW is up at 14.4 and the abnormal red cells I noted are due to the Velcade; they are nothing to be concerned about
- Just started tracking CD4 helper T cells which are quite low (expected given the immunosuppressants I am on, this is normal)
- Blood chemistry is all good
- Lipitor is working: Cholesterol is 180, triglycerides 141!

* Cancer markers:
- B2M is 1.3, very good!
- "M protein cannot be detected at the level of sensitivity of serum protein electrophoresis." I.E. No M-spike whatsoever!
- Immunofixation negative: "the original IgG lamba M-protein is not present." First time I've seen this in Arkansas!
- Same results in urine -- no M protein to be found anyplace!

* Bone marrow "negative for plasma cell myeloma"!
- No M component!
- Plasma cells <5%
- Normal morphology with no abnormalities
- This makes four consecutive bone marrow pulls that have all been normal!!

* MRI
- All previously described focal lesions in spine have deceased in signal intensity and size, no new lesions detected
- In the pelvis, largest focal lesion has decreased to 2cm (this was once 5cm) and other focal lesions have gone away
- No focal lesions in the shoulders any longer
- Decreased focal lesion in the left clavicle (was 1cm, now 5mm)

* Bone density is "excellent."

Sum total of all this: sustained deep remission, bones rapidly healing, precisely what they want to see!

Next steps: another course of Zometa, some testosterone (BB overruling my urologist!), Velcade inceased to 1.3mg per m2, rather than 1, but Dex decrease from 20mg to 12mg! I'll take that tradeoff!

Re: the Velcade, which GD had said "I don't think can be increased," BB said "ridiculous, I give this to little old ladies, we used to do much more than this."

Reducing the dex will help me lose weight, get better sleep, and reduce muscle wasting -- all good.

Some Q&A with BB yielded some funny moments:

* He asked me how I felt. I told him "recent bloodwork shows abormal red blood cell morphology" to which he said "so you walk down the street, grab your side and say "oh sh*t, I am experiencing abormal red blood cell morphology!??? I said 'how do you feel?'" And I had to admit, I feel good, other than the dex making me tired and hungry. He noted that the Velcade "is in the bone marrow stirring sh*t up in there, the marrow is trying to keep up, you're going to have some weird cells as a result but this will pass once you are no longer on Velcade, and it's nothing to worry about in the meantime." He suggested I stop observing myself so closely! :) Probably good advice.

* I told him I wanted to see if I could get any of my height back. He thought this would be a good idea (not just for vanity, but also to ensure spine health, avoid pinched nerves, etc.) so I will have a consult with the expert when I'm here next. He called BJ to set this up and said "Nick van Dyk is interested in extending his extremity.....(long pause)...please call a urologist." :) He then amended this, of course. :)

* We are looking for MRI complete remission as the next step. I asked him if there was anything I should be looking for as a negative indicator. He cut me off. "You will be the first to know. I'm way ahead of you. I see data updated from all my patients every Thursday and I spent hours poring through every number looking for this stuff. I'm more obsessed with your disease even than you are!"

* He gave me an unpublished article from Blood (it will be published soon) that shows the cure signature for Total Therapy 3 dating back to 2003. 55% of newly diagnosed patients. 74% of newly diagnosed low risk patients. 87.6% of newly diagnosed low-risk patients that reach CR (this is my group, thankfully). I have mentioned before that I have the Proliferation Subtype(PR) of the disease, which is an unfavorable indicator. Only 11 of 230 people with the Proliferation Subtype have low-risk disease. It is not the dominant marker for me, but it's still there. And it confers, even in a low-risk setting, a worse outcome (this is in part why he is juicing the Velcade). However, once these patients achieve complete remission, 87% remain in complete remission two years later -- and that is for all patients (including high risk). He was able to show me low-risk patients that achieved complete remission with the PR subtype -- and every since one of them remains in complete remission four years out. In other words, achieving CR overcomes the negative attributes of the PR subtype.

All in all, could not have been a better series of results.

Next steps:

* Another course of Zometa to speed along bone healing
* Velcade up to 1.3mg
* Dex down to 12mg
* Depo-testosterone administered via intramuscular injection, not a pad
* Return visit in May for another PET, full body MRI, another bone marrow, bloodwork, and probably back surgery

We then had a lovely dinner with BJ and BB's wonderful wife Kathy (the good doctor himself was not able to make it as he had dinner with a candidate -- don't know if that meant a prospective patient or a prospective doctor). The warmth and genuine concern of these people is amazing. We are so fortunate to call them friends, and so fortunate that we found this place.

This week we spent a bit of time with WB, whom I spoke with on the phone a few weeks ago at the request of BJ, and WB's lovely wife S. WB is just entering the program, was randomized to the lite arm yesterday, and begins his journey today or tomorrow with induction. I see a lot of the same questions and concerns I had a year ago in him -- and as with my new friend JH (who himself had an outstanding consult here last week, and will be monitored before entering treatment as BB felt he was in no danger at this time) I feel really good to be able to "reach back through time" and talk with people that remind me a lot of where I was at the beginning of my own journey. So WB, if you're reading this, go get em!!! And JH, you've picked the right place, for whenever you decide to proceed.

They are curing people here -- in large percentages. Make no mistake.

Be well, everyone! Graphs will start coming soon, I promise!