My mom has been in remission with multiple myeloma since June 2014. Her initial M-spike was 3.4 g/dL (34 g/l) and she does not have the aggressive type. She is 72.
My issue is since April she has had so much pain in the lower right area of her back, but she has always had back problems. University of Penn did X-rays in May and early July, included an MRI, etc., and it showed spinal stenosis, bone spurs where her pain is, herniated discs at L4 L 5. She was given shots in June and July with no progress in reducing the pain.
All of her lab work shows that she is in full remission.
My question is this week her doctor is given her a bone density test to rule out metastasis. Isn't the blood work enough and the MRI enough to rule out metastasis?
Her MRI report said there is no clear indication of multiple myeloma. She also had had Bence Jones urine test done, which showed no myeloma.
I have been worried sick over this, but don't want to tell anyone. And if it did metastasize, what would they do?
She is on only 10 mg of Revlimid, down from 25, and has been off the dex since February 2015. The doctor emailed from Pennsylvania University saying they want to rule metastasis out before they would do any type of surgery to reduce her pain ... removing the bone spurs through a laminectomy.
My name is Christopher and my mom means the world to me.
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Re: Bone density test if no metastasis signs in MRI & blood?
So sorry no one has replied. I am not very knowledgeable, as I am just smoldering and have a lot to learn, but I do think the test your mom's doctor wants is a bone scan. A bone density will not show what they are looking for.
Hoping someone with more knowledge helps you. Marti
Hoping someone with more knowledge helps you. Marti
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smarty - Name: Marti
- Who do you know with myeloma?: myself Smoldering Myeloma
- When were you/they diagnosed?: May 1, 2015
- Age at diagnosis: 76
Re: Bone density test if no metastasis signs in MRI & blood?
My mom has been in remission for 14 months. Recent bloodwork was great except that the kappa flc went up to 20.8. It's range should be 3.3 to 19.4.. Should this be of any concern and what do the doctors do now that t is going up a little., she continues to take 10 mg Revlimid cut down from 25 in May 2015. Her k to l ratio is 1.425. And lamba is 14.6. Both within normal limits. Concerned about the slight increase in kappa flc. Any suggestions and what to so. Thanks
Re: Bone density test if no metastasis signs in MRI & blood?
Christopher,
Welcome to the forum. I'm sorry to hear about all that your mother has gone through. She is in good hands, however, if she is seeing doctors at Penn. They have a number of very experienced myeloma specialists, and they will know how to figure out if it is myeloma that is causing her back pain.
The kind of change in free light chain levels that you mentioned is not that big. With almost all myeloma test results, you want to look at trends. Keep track of the test results, graphing them if you can, and then you can see if a single test is really out of whack, or within the sort of variation that has happened in the past.
If you haven't seen it already, there is a search box at the top of the forum that you can use to search for discussions on specific topics. It works best when you type in single keywords, like "Revlimid". If you get comfortable with using the search box, try using the Advanced Search functionality. With it, you'll be able to do searches like this one, which will bring up most of the discussions here in the forum about free light chain testing:
https://myelomabeacon.org/forum/search.php?keywords=free+chain+flc+ratio+ratios+chains+light+flcs&terms=any&author=&sc=1&sf=titleonly&sr=topics&sk=t&sd=d&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search
There's also a "sticky" discussion at the top of the Treatments & Side Effects area of this forum, labeled "Useful links to existing forum discussions", which has links to forum discussions organized by topic:
https://myelomabeacon.org/forum/links-existing-forum-discussions-t3780.html
Finally, if you go to the site's News page,
https://myelomabeacon.org/news/
you'll find links to articles about specific treatments and topics like "maintenance therapy" and "transplantation."
I hope your mother's doctors find the source of her back pain, and that it ends up being something that can be treated, and that it doesn't reflect any change in her multiple myeloma.
Good luck!
Welcome to the forum. I'm sorry to hear about all that your mother has gone through. She is in good hands, however, if she is seeing doctors at Penn. They have a number of very experienced myeloma specialists, and they will know how to figure out if it is myeloma that is causing her back pain.
The kind of change in free light chain levels that you mentioned is not that big. With almost all myeloma test results, you want to look at trends. Keep track of the test results, graphing them if you can, and then you can see if a single test is really out of whack, or within the sort of variation that has happened in the past.
If you haven't seen it already, there is a search box at the top of the forum that you can use to search for discussions on specific topics. It works best when you type in single keywords, like "Revlimid". If you get comfortable with using the search box, try using the Advanced Search functionality. With it, you'll be able to do searches like this one, which will bring up most of the discussions here in the forum about free light chain testing:
https://myelomabeacon.org/forum/search.php?keywords=free+chain+flc+ratio+ratios+chains+light+flcs&terms=any&author=&sc=1&sf=titleonly&sr=topics&sk=t&sd=d&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search
There's also a "sticky" discussion at the top of the Treatments & Side Effects area of this forum, labeled "Useful links to existing forum discussions", which has links to forum discussions organized by topic:
https://myelomabeacon.org/forum/links-existing-forum-discussions-t3780.html
Finally, if you go to the site's News page,
https://myelomabeacon.org/news/
you'll find links to articles about specific treatments and topics like "maintenance therapy" and "transplantation."
I hope your mother's doctors find the source of her back pain, and that it ends up being something that can be treated, and that it doesn't reflect any change in her multiple myeloma.
Good luck!
4 posts
• Page 1 of 1