It's very unusual for me to miss a day of work and, as a college band director, missing a Monday night rehearsal is nearly unthinkable. On Monday February 15th, I missed both and most of the rest of the week too. I had slight anemia (specialists couldn't seem to find the cause), severe headaches and general fatigue and overall malaise.
On Thursday of that week, I had seen my GP, who gave me an injection that improved my perceived health to the point where I went to work on Friday. At work that day, I became very light headed and disoriented at which point I called me GP, who advised me to go straight to the ER. Well, they found that I was hypocalcimic and my kidneys were shutting down due to calcium build-up from my lytic lesions.
After being admitted, my oncologist introduced herself and gave me the news that I have Stage 3 multiple myeloma. The bone marrow biopsy confirmed her diagnosis and here I am as a 58 year old husband and father who is deeply concerned for my family and their future ... and my own. I am on a Revlimid, Velcade, and dexamethasone (RVD) regimen and have traveled to the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida to meet with Dr. Melissa Alsina and her multiple myeloma team. She is their leading myeloma specialist.
I am highly impressed by the team, the staff, and the Moffitt transplant facility. Since I live in Port Orange, FL (about 145 miles from Tampa) it is necessary for me to communicate with her via e-mail. She responds immediately to any questions or concerns I have. Last night she sent a message at 11:00.
And speaking of impressive, I am so very pleased to have found the Beacon site and the support system of folks sharing in the same struggle. I have been reading the forum and have seen how much your experiences, advice, and warmth have reached out to others like us who need a helping hand. I hope that I may contribute something too as I share in this same life-altering disease. Thank you and please be in touch.
Doug
Forums
3 posts
• Page 1 of 1
-
Conductor1 - Name: Doug Peterson
- Who do you know with myeloma?: myself and Dabney Smith
- When were you/they diagnosed?: I was diagnosed on Feb. 21, 2016
- Age at diagnosis: 58
Re: Diagnosed February 21; great to see all the support
Doug,
You have found a wonderful place. You sound a lot like my husband. He too was diagnosed in December of 2015 with myeloma at the age of 58. That is young for the median age of diagnosis. He was slightly anemic and had back and rib pain. His kidney function was greatly compromised at diagnosis and he spent four days in the hospital getting that under control at the beginning of treatment.
He has been on cyclophosphamide, Velcade, and dexamethasone (CyBorD) for the last 3 and a half months and has two more treatments left. His stem cell transplant (SCT) is scheduled for June 1st.
His induction chemo has left him feeling so much better and all of his labs are back to normal with minimum side effects from the drugs. He has never been sick really and was a burn-the-candle-at-both-ends kinda guy until this. We see the myeloma specialist at Sarah Cannon Cancer Center in Nashville, TN.
Good luck to you and your family. I plan on posting as much as I can about his stem cell transplant saga as I have found comfort and knowledge in reading others post here.
You have found a wonderful place. You sound a lot like my husband. He too was diagnosed in December of 2015 with myeloma at the age of 58. That is young for the median age of diagnosis. He was slightly anemic and had back and rib pain. His kidney function was greatly compromised at diagnosis and he spent four days in the hospital getting that under control at the beginning of treatment.
He has been on cyclophosphamide, Velcade, and dexamethasone (CyBorD) for the last 3 and a half months and has two more treatments left. His stem cell transplant (SCT) is scheduled for June 1st.
His induction chemo has left him feeling so much better and all of his labs are back to normal with minimum side effects from the drugs. He has never been sick really and was a burn-the-candle-at-both-ends kinda guy until this. We see the myeloma specialist at Sarah Cannon Cancer Center in Nashville, TN.
Good luck to you and your family. I plan on posting as much as I can about his stem cell transplant saga as I have found comfort and knowledge in reading others post here.
-
dogmom - Who do you know with myeloma?: husband
- When were you/they diagnosed?: December 2015
- Age at diagnosis: 58
Re: Diagnosed February 21; great to see all the support
The Beacon forum has helped me understand what is happening with my husband. I would also encourage you to find a local myeloma support group. Lastly, my husband had his transplant at Moffitt - they were amazing.
3 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Return to Member Introductions / Personal Stories