I want to introduce myself. My name is Megan and I am 55 years old and live in the northeast of the United States.
I was a caregiver to my dad, mom, and brother, who all died within the last 10 years of cancer. My bother of esophagus (51 yrs old). My dad of a brain tumor. My mom had colon cancer. After my mom's death last April, I moved into her home permanently and sold my house. I developed horrible allergies which appeared to be an ongoing sinus / cold thing. I had never had them before, but I attributed them to her home having so much forest and me being exposed to new allergens.
I went to an allergist, had an ESR come back at 84, meaning undetermined inflammation in my body. I was sent to a rheumatologist who did testing and found I had an elevated kappa light chain and abnormal ratio. My kappa light chain is 19.7, with normal being (3,3 -19.4), and my ratio is 1.77, normal being (0,26- 1.65). I have no M-spike and all my other blood work is normal.
I was told to see a hematologist and I have an appointment this week. I feel that cancer will not leave my family alone. I am a single parent of a daughter who is in her late 20s and on her own. I live alone and this has been making my mind so upset and worried. I am basically worried that if I need to treat this I have no family to help me. I am so thankful this site exists because it has given me so much knowledge from reading this. I will be seeing a multiple myeloma specialist in about a week. I have no idea what to expect.
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Re: Came out of nowhere
Hello Megan,
Thanks for posting. I hope that your symptoms of slightly elevated kappa light chains and ratio is not about myeloma. Maybe it is MGUS, which is much less serious, and only occasionally develops into multiple myeloma.
Since you have had tragedies in your family involving cancer, it would be normal to worry that you might have cancer also. If the hematologist wanted to do more investigations, a skeletal x-ray survey or other scan, and a bone marrow biopsy could be done to confirm a diagnosis of myeloma.
Keep us posted as to what you find out!
Thanks for posting. I hope that your symptoms of slightly elevated kappa light chains and ratio is not about myeloma. Maybe it is MGUS, which is much less serious, and only occasionally develops into multiple myeloma.
Since you have had tragedies in your family involving cancer, it would be normal to worry that you might have cancer also. If the hematologist wanted to do more investigations, a skeletal x-ray survey or other scan, and a bone marrow biopsy could be done to confirm a diagnosis of myeloma.
Keep us posted as to what you find out!
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Nancy Shamanna - Name: Nancy Shamanna
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Self and others too
- When were you/they diagnosed?: July 2009
Re: Came out of nowhere
Hi Megan,
You wrote:
I can very much understand this worry. It is difficult enough to have to deal with an illness, but to have to do it alone can make it even more difficult. But remember, you don't know yet if you even have an issue.
That said, I would strongly recommend that you begin right away in developing a support system for yourself. Starting with this wonderful forum is a great beginning. I don't know what support systems exist in your area, but there are a variety of places you can start looking. The local Area Agency on Aging (google it to find out their phone) can be enormously helpful in getting you to all kinds of resources. Also, if there is a cancer center near you, it may well have a social worker who can help you find many different sources of support. Often oncologists will have some suggestions.
In many communities there are volunteer organizations, some through religious communities, some secular, that support people in your situation. They often will have folks who can drive and/or accompany you to doctor appointments. There is "Meals on Wheels" if you feel too crummy to cook, and there are organizations that will simply provide companionship and a friend to talk to.
I wish you the best of luck, and I believe once you discover all the support available in your community, you will feel less alone.
You wrote:
I live alone and this has been making my mind so upset and worried. I am basically worried that if I need to treat this I have no family to help me
I can very much understand this worry. It is difficult enough to have to deal with an illness, but to have to do it alone can make it even more difficult. But remember, you don't know yet if you even have an issue.
That said, I would strongly recommend that you begin right away in developing a support system for yourself. Starting with this wonderful forum is a great beginning. I don't know what support systems exist in your area, but there are a variety of places you can start looking. The local Area Agency on Aging (google it to find out their phone) can be enormously helpful in getting you to all kinds of resources. Also, if there is a cancer center near you, it may well have a social worker who can help you find many different sources of support. Often oncologists will have some suggestions.
In many communities there are volunteer organizations, some through religious communities, some secular, that support people in your situation. They often will have folks who can drive and/or accompany you to doctor appointments. There is "Meals on Wheels" if you feel too crummy to cook, and there are organizations that will simply provide companionship and a friend to talk to.
I wish you the best of luck, and I believe once you discover all the support available in your community, you will feel less alone.
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bodumene - Name: bodumene
- Who do you know with myeloma?: myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: January, 2017
Re: Came out of nowhere
Just to ease your mind about those values:
I have kappa light chain and while my most of blood values are within to slightly out of range, my kappa numbers are:
1200 Kappa
95% Kappa to 5% Lambda
214% ratio
I have kappa light chain and while my most of blood values are within to slightly out of range, my kappa numbers are:
1200 Kappa
95% Kappa to 5% Lambda
214% ratio
-
judimcbry - Name: Judi
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Self
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Jan 2017 delayed
- Age at diagnosis: 52
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