Last week, I had my blood drawn and my results continue to
improve. My white cells, hemoglobin and
platelets all increased. At this point,
I think the only number that is out of range is my hemoglobin and each month it
continues to move in the right direction.
Why do we care about all these
numbers increasing? We care because
these improvements indicate that my bone marrow is functioning and that most
likely means that I have less cancer. If
my cancer was growing, there wouldn’t be room in the marrow for these new cells
to exist. That’s what happens with myeloma
– the plasma/cancer cells crowd out the good cells such as red and white blood
cells.
My IGA, however, moved in the wrong direction again. It’s not what we want to see but, considering
my other improvements, Dr. Gonzalez is optimistic. We discussed my energy level (good) and a few
other things and he thinks I’m fine. He
said IGA will often bounce around on his myeloma patients and he shared the
story of another myeloma patient who came to him with advanced disease 18+
years ago whose IGA has fluctuated by several thousand points over the
years. For those of you reading who have
myeloma, you may be interested to know that this patient had advanced disease
and his oncologist was recommending a bone marrow transplant. The patient declined and decided to do the Gonzalez
protocol. Almost 20 years later, his hemoglobin
remains in the normal range while his IGA jumps around like a ping pong
ball. Dr. Gonzalez has mentioned that my
IGA will likely never be in range but it’s not a concern - I can live a long,
healthy life with an elevated IGA. When
IGA is elevated it can mean the patient has cancer or it can simply mean that
the patient’s existing plasma cells are over-active.
Next week, I’m heading to NYC for my six month
check-up. I’ve already sent in my hair
sample and I am looking forward to seeing if the hair analysis provides some
insight as to why my IGA is increasing.
Wish me luck! (a few
prayers wouldn’t hurt either)