Monday, July 8, 2013

Incomplete feedback from a couple of doctors on my labs

So in the wake of my alarming little reappearance of the word "monoclonal" on my labs the other day, I did a little inquiring.

BB told me not to worry, as previously reported.  That this was an oligoclonal band and a sign of marrow recovery.  This is corroborated by that article I posted.

BJ, BB's right arm, was kind enough to follow up with a summary of the immunofixation tests I've gotten from Arkansas over the past three years.  Several (early on, though) did indicate the presence of more than one monoclonal band.  They were not the original MM protein that was reflected by my disease, though, so it wasn't a recurrence.

However, these reports have likewise been clean the last several months.

Dr. GT, a MM specialist in his own right who used to work for BB, has been kind enough to answer a few questions of mine over the last year since my friend CP, whom is in his treatment, has been a great teammate in our little battle here and she referred me to him.

GT said that without knowing which specific protein (both light and heavy chain) this is, it's impossible to say whether or not it's a recurrence of the disease.

Which brings me back to the Arkansas comment that seemingly indicated my original monoclonal issues had both a light and heavy chain component, and since the light chain is the only one that was found here, that's another indication that all is well.

But unless Arkansas sees the detail behind the protein and confirms it's not the same, I won't be convinced.

So I'm going to get some blood sent to Arkansas the next time I'm back at the doctor's.  I'm supposed to be sending it to them monthly but I must confess, years of complete remission and a growing confidence (interrupted by a few crises of faith) that I'm cured has led me to be a bit cavalier about so doing.  I resolve to be better about this going forward.

The likelihood is that this is either (a) a false positive reading or (b) oligoclonal.  That said, as I wrote above, I'll still be trepidatious until it is confirmed.  Until then...I shall try to put it out of my mind.