Medical Stuff

The adventure began just before Christmas 2016. After a fall, I had an MRI that revealed three tumors, the largest of which had eaten a chunk of my right shoulder blade.

Interestingly, the doctors found the scapula tumor to be inconsequential compared to a smaller one on my spine that seemed to be ready to incapacitate me by pushing against my spinal cord.

The reaction was swift with a combination of Radiation Therapy and low-dose chemotherapy injections that started in January along with oral medications.

The regimen appears to have worked since I am not paralyzed, the tumors are non-factors and six months later, I have no signs of Multiple Myeloma in my bone marrow.

I do have Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia cells still roaming around, but this variety seems to be so non-threatening that we’re going to ignore it in favor of chasing the bad stuff.

So, that brings us up to June 2017.

It appears that the Multiple Myeloma will return unless we…

• Continue with Chemo-therapy, or
• Conduct a bone marrow, stem-cell replacement procedure.

A panel of doctors reviewing my case recommended the stem-cell replacement and I have concurred.

At the beginning of June, I took some special drugs that enhanced stem cell production, then went to the hospital for a couple of days and sat for several hours hooked up to a machine. We succeeded in harvesting just under 10 million stem cells, which have now been re-engineered to remove the propensity for manufacturing cancer. They have been frozen and are awaiting my arrival to be thawed and inserted back into my body.

In a few days, I will go into the hospital and be zapped with a couple of high-dose chemo-therapy drugs. The idea is to kill off my immune system and the cells that are behaving so badly.

Two days later, the newly re-engineered cells will go into my body and replace the ones destroyed by the chemo. This is called “Day Zero”.  From that point, my body will start constructing a completely new immune system. Later, I will receive new childhood and adult immunizations, since my cells will have no memory of mumps, measles or chicken pox, even though I had them all as a child.

Since I will have lost my immune system, I’m required to stay in isolation. For three weeks, I will be restricted to the 8^th floor of Houston Methodist Hospital along with fourteen other stem-cell patients. If I do well, I’ll be able to go home, but won’t be able to see people for an additional four weeks. Reports are that I’ll be able to have some sort of normal life after Labor Day and be totally recovered next spring.

So, that’s the story. Long term looks very good with some challenges in the short term.

Thanks to all for the thoughts and prayers and positive messages. It really is appreciated.

Jay