[JD003]

Hello, I'm new here

by JD003 on Wed Jun 24, 2015 2:06 pm

Hello, my name is Jerry.

I recently had an annual physical. My doctor called me back for continued blood work after a shigh protein level was noticed. He then contacted me to let me know I had an M-Spike. He told me "You do not have cancer" that he could just have me come back next year and we'll watch it. But to be prudent, he has referred me to an oncologist.

Today he posted these results on my portal.

Protein Elec + Interp, Serum (L-225920) 2015-06-16
----Protein, Total, Serum (6.0-8.5) 10.0
----Albumin (3.2-5.6) 3.5
----A/G Ratio (0.7-2.0) 0.5
----Please note:()
----M-Spike (Not Observed) 4.3
----P E Interpretation, S()
----Globulin, Total (2.0-4.5) 6.5
----Beta Globulin (0.6-1.3) 0.8
----Gamma Globulin (0.5-1.6) 4.7
----Alpha-1-Globulin (0.1-0.4) 0.3
----Alpha-2-Globulin (0.4-1.2) 0.7

With the time I've had researching M-Spikes previous to seeing these results, I "think" I have learned that anything higher than 3.0 notes malignancy. My appointment with the oncologist is not until July 17th. I hesitate to ask as I am already beside myself with fear.

But a 4.3 M-Spike? This looks pretty bad to me.

Any information would be appreciated. Thank you.

[blair77]

Re: Hello, I'm new here

by blair77 on Thu Jun 25, 2015 12:42 am

A diagnosis of myeloma requires a large amount of criteria to be met for diagnosis. With that said, an M-spike of 4.3 is quite high. I would see if you could be seen sooner as waiting till the 17th of July will only increase your worry. A word of advice: seek out a myeloma specialist before you begin treatment IF that does happen to be the diagnosis.

[JPC]

Re: Hello, I'm new here

by JPC on Thu Jun 25, 2015 6:37 am

Hello JD:

While you are figuring out what to do, at this stage, get the M-Spike checked as frequently as you can. When in the pre-myeloma stage (MGUS and Smoldering), the M-Spike moves up very slowly. When transitioning to active multiple myeloma, it starts to move up much more quickly. If you see it flat, you have a little bit of time to get organized, get a second opinion, evaluate options. If there is a big jump, you have to move more quickly to get started on initial induction before symptoms could possibly set in. For our case, for example, my wife's M-Spike moved up very slowly over several years, and jumped from 4 to 7 in about 6-8 weeks, needing treatment that started in October of last year. Even at 4, you still might be smoldering, but you need to get it checked frequently, going forward. Best of luck to you.

[JD003]

Re: Hello, I'm new here

by JD003 on Thu Jun 25, 2015 11:01 am

Thanks for the responses. I will try to move the appointment up sooner.