Tomorrow we meet with a new oncologist as my husbands previous doctor has left the university for a different job. Since we last saw her, the decision has been made that he cannot have a stem cell transplant due to cardiac issues. He's had a complete response even though his treatment was not as long as they would have liked due to peripheral neuropathy. I have no idea if we will even like this doctor, but we have access to others at the university if we need to.
The reason he can't have the transplant is that he is in heart failure. The cardiologist from Mayo believes the chemotherapy is to blame, the oncologist does not think so, but the change was dramatic, and I tend to agree with the cardiologist. So I'm concerned about where we go from here. We also see my husband's cardiologist tomorrow, so its a lot going on. Not sure I know where to begin with the new oncologist.
The really big concern for me is the condition my husband was in prior to diagnosis. He was suffering from delirium that started in April last year, and did not resolve until early July while he was undergoing his initial chemotherapy. It was beyond horrible. I think I am afraid that he will relapse because induction therapy was less than 20 weeks. Its just hard to feel like that will hold for long. I'm also afraid of the side effects of anything for maintenance with the condition his heart is in. And we get to go into this tomorrow with a new oncologist.
Throw at me any thoughts you might have regarding questions to ask or whatever. I'm pretty good at advocating most of the time, just not sure how we'll like starting over with someone new.
If you met my husband right now, you would never know what last year was like. Guess I'm afraid a medical history won't catch a new doctor up to speed. Thanks.
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Re: New doctor - what questions to ask?
Met with my husband's new oncologist yesterday. Very pleased. We will continue monthly Zometa, and monthly labs to monitor his myeloma. No maintenance at this time. I feel good about no maintenance right now so his body can have a drug break.
The cardiac issues are a different matter. While his cardiologist feels it is probably a logical conclusion that his heart did not tolerate the chemo well, he is not satisfied with leaving it there. So next week he goes in for another angiogram. Since his cardiac history started with a cardiac arrest due to an blood clot in his lung, they want to rule out any blockages. And they are going to try and get him back to some much better heart function, if possible, so that he can be transplant eligible in the future.
I was very impressed that both the intern, and his cardiac interventionist, were trying to think of what was best in terms of his heart and his myeloma. I think it will help us both to move forward knowing that we are getting a good team approach on things. We have been in such good hands from the very start, working with doctors from two highly respected institutions here in the midwest. Wish everyone had such good access.
The cardiac issues are a different matter. While his cardiologist feels it is probably a logical conclusion that his heart did not tolerate the chemo well, he is not satisfied with leaving it there. So next week he goes in for another angiogram. Since his cardiac history started with a cardiac arrest due to an blood clot in his lung, they want to rule out any blockages. And they are going to try and get him back to some much better heart function, if possible, so that he can be transplant eligible in the future.
I was very impressed that both the intern, and his cardiac interventionist, were trying to think of what was best in terms of his heart and his myeloma. I think it will help us both to move forward knowing that we are getting a good team approach on things. We have been in such good hands from the very start, working with doctors from two highly respected institutions here in the midwest. Wish everyone had such good access.
Re: New doctor - what questions to ask?
No advice, just a note to let you know I'll say a prayer for you and your husband.
marvin
marvin
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marvin
Re: New doctor - what questions to ask?
Thank you, cindylouise, for updating us on how your appointment went. We're sorry that neither we, nor anyone else, was able to come up with any suggestions for you prior to your appointment. However, it sounds like it went well.
It's very helpful how you have kept everyone here updated on how things are going with you and your husband, and we just want to say how much we appreciate it. A lot can be learned, of course, from the questions and answers that you often see here in the forum, but it's even more helpful when there's information about how a particular issue was resolved.
It's very helpful how you have kept everyone here updated on how things are going with you and your husband, and we just want to say how much we appreciate it. A lot can be learned, of course, from the questions and answers that you often see here in the forum, but it's even more helpful when there's information about how a particular issue was resolved.
Re: New doctor - what questions to ask?
Thank you for the kind words Marvin. And to the Beacon Staff response - I know sometimes it takes a while to get a response on a forum like this. I'm sure we can all relate to feeling a little overwhelmed as we approach major appointments like that. So it almost feels like panicking the night before you go.
All of it did go really well for us tho. And sometimes its enough to just have somewhere to put your thoughts out there, kind of organizes them for you. This site is an amazing resource to have.
All of it did go really well for us tho. And sometimes its enough to just have somewhere to put your thoughts out there, kind of organizes them for you. This site is an amazing resource to have.
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