[Ted Kan]

New here - on elotuzumab, Revlimid, and dex

by Ted Kan on Tue Jul 14, 2015 10:20 pm

Just joined the Myeloma Beacon. I was initially diagnosed in mid-December 2014 by my rural family physician in Virginia. I give him great credit. His diagnosis was based on a slight elevation of my total protein and globulins on a routine metabolic panel. I was and remain asymptomatic. He did an SPEP which showed an M spike of 3.0 g/dL. We were in California by then. We spend the winters there. He called, told me the "bad news," and insisted I see an oncologist or a hema­tol­ogist. Because of my age, 76, and other factors, my wife and I decided against a stem cell trans­plant.

Long story short, saw James Berenson, an oncologist focusing on myeloma and associated conditions, on January 5. My M-spike was now 5.7 g/dL, beta-2 microglobulin 4.63, kappa / lamdba 791, 80 to 90 % of marrow full of plasma cell cancer, etc. But no anemia, no renal involvement (creatinine 0.7) and no bone pain. We discussed options and I decided to go on the elotuzumab, Revlimid, and dexamethasone study.

Transferred my care back to Virginia in early May. All studies are WNL or 0 except for the M spike, which is now 0.12 g/dl. I remain asymptomatic and feel great. I will resume some part time teach­ing in early August, about ten to twelve hours a week. No significant side effects except for the dex effect, which is likely why this initial post is so long! Sorry.

[Carol of Eden]

Re: New here - on elotuzumab, Revlimid, and dex

by Carol of Eden on Tue Jul 14, 2015 10:46 pm

Congratulations on your wonderful response to therapy. You put yourself in great hands with Dr. Berenson, and I am glad to know that you could start on a trial in California (my home state) and then transfer it back to Virginia. I hope to live in two places myself, and wonder if that will drastically limit my therapy and care choices (still classified as having smoldering multiple myeloma for now). Keep us in the loop on how you do.

Other than not wanting at your age to do a stem cell transplant, were there other factors that made you chose the elotuzumab trial instead of other options?

[Ted Kan]

Re: New here - on elotuzumab, Revlimid, and dex

by Ted Kan on Wed Jul 15, 2015 3:44 pm

Hi Carol,

Dr. Berenson discussed options but felt the elotuzumab trial was worth my strong consideration. He had over 50 patients on it (I was # 55) and all but one had a great response. I decided to enroll in it and am very glad I did. No side effects from the elotuzumab antibody. It's like getting a normal saline infusion.

I turned 76 in February. From my initial reading on myeloma, I felt that length of survival for people my age was significantly lower than for younger people. Thus I wanted an initial treatment option that would have minimal side effects so that what time I had left would be of high quality. So far so good.

The cancer center in Virginia is following the same treatment protocol as I had in CA. I will resume care with Dr. Berenson when I return to CA in late fall. Will consult with him if my numbers start to rise before then.

Good luck to you!
Ted