Re-staging and Follow-up

Greetings!  Since the last posting (August 22nd), I've increased my walking from 1/3 mile to about 1-1/2 miles.  This has helped tremendously with my stamina, though I'm still in the world of fatigue.  The doctor released me to return to work for a few hours per day on September 1st.  I'm up to six hours now.  I still have to be careful--avoid crowds and rooms full of people--in order to minimize the risk of infection.    Recovery continues at its own pace.  And I'm getting hair again!

For multiple myeloma, a re-staging of the disease is done about 80 days post stem cell transplant.  So on September 27th I had another bone marrow aspiration and biopsy to see how much myeloma (abnormal plasma cells) is present.  

Today, day 365 from my initial diagnosis, I got the results: There is "...only a minuscule amount of abnormal plasma cells" in my bone marrow!  Hallelujah! and Yey!  There are still a couple more tests to pass, but that was the big one.  Next comes follow-up, which will be a low dose chemo that is taken orally.  It's the same drug I was on at first, but a much lower dose.

From here on there won't be much happening in comparison to all new experiences and battles up to now; and that's a good thing.  So blog postings will be sporadic from here on out.  This war on multiple myeloma continues, but the enemy has been severely weakened.  Thank you for all of your prayers, healing thoughts, blood donations and other gifts.  Thank you for your visits, phone calls, and e-mails checking on me.  Thank you for joining me in fighting this war.  I'm not alone!

Peace.