Hi,
My name is Chris. I was diagnosed early March of this year with multiple myeloma at the age of 52. There is no cancer history on either side of my parents' families.
I am being treated at a leading cancer center in Boston. I am currently undergoing treatment. At diagnosis, my kappa light chain was 14,175. It is at 1,212 right now. I am in the fourth cycle of a planned 6 cycles of treatment, and plan on doing a stem cell transplant in late July.
I'm wondering what the next 6 to 12 months will be like.
I am very positive and look forward to trying to get healthy.
Chris
Forums
6 posts
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BigRhody13 - Name: Chris
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: 2-15-2016
- Age at diagnosis: 52
Re: Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in early March, age 52
Hello Chris,
Welcome to the forum, but I am sorry you have to be here.
Do you have kappa light chain myeloma? What isotype (IgG, IgA, IgM)?
You are the first person to post on the Beacon since I was diagnosed with IgA kappa light chain two years ago with higher light chain values than I had. Mine were 12,000. Now they are normal. I was very lucky to respond to treatment quickly. I had a stem cell transplant in October 2014.
How are your kidneys? Do you have any damage? I had slight damage. My creatinine remains in the 1.1 - 1.2 range, which is a little high according to my oncologist because I am a small woman.
If you are in Boston, you have access to some of the best myeloma specialists in the world. I hope you are seeing one, that's very important in the long-term scheme of things.
Good luck and keep us posted on your situation. We are here for you.
Welcome to the forum, but I am sorry you have to be here.
Do you have kappa light chain myeloma? What isotype (IgG, IgA, IgM)?
You are the first person to post on the Beacon since I was diagnosed with IgA kappa light chain two years ago with higher light chain values than I had. Mine were 12,000. Now they are normal. I was very lucky to respond to treatment quickly. I had a stem cell transplant in October 2014.
How are your kidneys? Do you have any damage? I had slight damage. My creatinine remains in the 1.1 - 1.2 range, which is a little high according to my oncologist because I am a small woman.
If you are in Boston, you have access to some of the best myeloma specialists in the world. I hope you are seeing one, that's very important in the long-term scheme of things.
Good luck and keep us posted on your situation. We are here for you.
Re: Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in early March, age 52
Hi Ellen,
Thank you for replying to my post, Only being diagnosed in March, my kidney was an issue, my creatinine was high, and so was calcium. I had my right knee replaced in August 2015, I was rehabbing and like a lot of people, I just thought everything was connected. My mid back was painful and they did an MRI and found a lesion on my rib.
I am at Dana Farber Center in Boston, I am seeing a great doctor and they have solid plan of action. They have a way of doing things that is pretty impressive. My creatinine level is 2.01 now, but was high. The doctor thinks that the kidney is ok, but like everything else, they need to keep a eye on it.
I went from 15,000 kappa free light chain on March 1 to 1,234 today, so I guess that's pretty good?
Ellen, best of health to you!
Chris
Thank you for replying to my post, Only being diagnosed in March, my kidney was an issue, my creatinine was high, and so was calcium. I had my right knee replaced in August 2015, I was rehabbing and like a lot of people, I just thought everything was connected. My mid back was painful and they did an MRI and found a lesion on my rib.
I am at Dana Farber Center in Boston, I am seeing a great doctor and they have solid plan of action. They have a way of doing things that is pretty impressive. My creatinine level is 2.01 now, but was high. The doctor thinks that the kidney is ok, but like everything else, they need to keep a eye on it.
I went from 15,000 kappa free light chain on March 1 to 1,234 today, so I guess that's pretty good?
Ellen, best of health to you!
Chris
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BigRhody13 - Name: Chris
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: 2-15-2016
- Age at diagnosis: 52
Re: Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in early March, age 52
Sounds like you are doing very well with those light chains. Do you have an M-spike at all?
You were lucky that they caught the myeloma before it had a chance to do too much damage to your kidneys. You may see that creatinine number continue to trend down.
Let me know how you do.
You were lucky that they caught the myeloma before it had a chance to do too much damage to your kidneys. You may see that creatinine number continue to trend down.
Let me know how you do.
Re: Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in early March, age 52
Chris,
You have found a great community with a wealth of knowledge and tips.
My husband was diagnosed in late December 2015 with kappa IgA myeloma. It had affected his kidneys and his creatinine was 5.0 and his calcium was elevated. He had a 6.7 hemoglobin. He is 58. We knew something was not right with him. He has always been a "burn the candle at both ends" guy and never sick except for the usual stuff, colds, etc. and not much of that. Very active.
We were redoing our kitchen in October 2015 and he began having back and chest pain. He went to our primary care doctor and was put on muscle relaxers (thought he had pulled something). They of course had no effect, and as he got worse, he was found to be slightly anemic. He had tests done to rule out GI bleed and heart problems. All negative. As they investigated more, all roads led to myeloma.
He was admitted to the hospital for four days with hard IV flush and steroids, and the kidneys began to function again. He also received 2 units of blood. After four months of induction chemo with cyclophosphamide, Velcade, and dex (CyBorD), all his labs are normal and he feels so much better. We have almost completed our pre-transplant testing and so far so good. If the post treatment bone marrow is good, he will start harvest and then admitted for transplant on June 1st.
I wish you well on your journey.
You have found a great community with a wealth of knowledge and tips.
My husband was diagnosed in late December 2015 with kappa IgA myeloma. It had affected his kidneys and his creatinine was 5.0 and his calcium was elevated. He had a 6.7 hemoglobin. He is 58. We knew something was not right with him. He has always been a "burn the candle at both ends" guy and never sick except for the usual stuff, colds, etc. and not much of that. Very active.
We were redoing our kitchen in October 2015 and he began having back and chest pain. He went to our primary care doctor and was put on muscle relaxers (thought he had pulled something). They of course had no effect, and as he got worse, he was found to be slightly anemic. He had tests done to rule out GI bleed and heart problems. All negative. As they investigated more, all roads led to myeloma.
He was admitted to the hospital for four days with hard IV flush and steroids, and the kidneys began to function again. He also received 2 units of blood. After four months of induction chemo with cyclophosphamide, Velcade, and dex (CyBorD), all his labs are normal and he feels so much better. We have almost completed our pre-transplant testing and so far so good. If the post treatment bone marrow is good, he will start harvest and then admitted for transplant on June 1st.
I wish you well on your journey.
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dogmom - Who do you know with myeloma?: husband
- When were you/they diagnosed?: December 2015
- Age at diagnosis: 58
Re: Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in early March, age 52
Hi Chris -
My myeloma presents very differently from yours, and I'm choosing not to get a transplant, so I have nothing relevant and so helpful to offer.
But, as a relative newbie, I wanted to welcome you to the Beacon and tell you that I love your attitude! I just started my 6th of 8 cycles of induction, so we're at roughly the same treatment timeline.
Good luck with everything, especially your transplant. Somehow, I'm banking on a great success for you!
My myeloma presents very differently from yours, and I'm choosing not to get a transplant, so I have nothing relevant and so helpful to offer.
But, as a relative newbie, I wanted to welcome you to the Beacon and tell you that I love your attitude! I just started my 6th of 8 cycles of induction, so we're at roughly the same treatment timeline.
Good luck with everything, especially your transplant. Somehow, I'm banking on a great success for you!
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moonscape - Who do you know with myeloma?: me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: 11/2015
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