[Doug from AL]

Doug from AL, 56, diagnosed in March 2017

by Doug from AL on Tue Jun 27, 2017 2:09 pm

2017 was supposed to be a strong training year in preparation for the Ironman Chattanooga 140.6 triathlon in 2018. After a good start, running training 100 miles in February, I felt an unusual pain in my left side during a chiropractic session. That changed everything.

I went to a clinic in March and explained what I was feeling, but I had to convince him to an x-ray as the doctor didn't believe there was anything wrong with me. The x-ray told the tale, a mass the size of a fist just above where I felt the pain. That finding led to PET scan, a referral to the local hospital, and then to the Clearview Cancer Institute, where multiple myeloma was diagnosed. That is also where my treatment began in April.

I am just completing my 3rd cycle of treatment (Velcade, Revlimid, and dexamethasone) and my doctor just reduced the dosage for the 4th and last cycle due to a bit of peripheral neuropathy. Next step will be a stem cell replacement procedure in August.

Both my doctor and I are very confident that a positive outcome is in the future, my treatments have gone well, and my weight has not changed by even a pound since my first treatment infusion. Ironman Chattanooga 2018 might not be possible, but 2019 is definitely penciled into the schedule along with a return to the fitness I've lost since my treatment started!

[Mark Pouley]

Re: Doug from AL, 56, diagnosed in March 2017

by Mark Pouley on Wed Jun 28, 2017 12:29 pm

Welcome to the forums Doug (that always seems like an odd greeting here).

Your attitude is great at this early stage of treatment and it sounds like you have plenty to be positive about. Please remember to share the tales of your Iron Man exploits with all of us.

[lrankin]

Re: Doug from AL, 56, diagnosed in March 2017

by lrankin on Sun Jul 02, 2017 11:14 am

Hi, Doug.

I'm sorry you are here, but glad you have found the Beacon. It has been a great source of information and sanity for me throughout my husband's (48) myeloma journey.

A few thoughts for you. Stay advocating for yourself. That will never go away. It took me insisting my husband see an orthopedic specialist before his year-long back pain got diagnosed as myeloma. I still ask challenging questions of his local hematologist / oncologist to make sure we have covered all bases. I hope you will make sure you also see a myeloma specialist as part of your care team.

Regarding the peripheral neuropathy: My husband had the same induction treatment as you prior to his autologous stem cell transplant. His legs would ache and he would have some numbness in his feet. That started toward the end of his induction and carried on for quite awhile. He ended induction August / September 2015 and it didn't go away until a year later. I would be so worried and talk to the doctors and you never really get an answer. I searched the Beacon on techniques for trying to reduce it. With Velcade (the cause), the good news is it usually does go away.

[Paul58]

Re: Doug from AL, 56, diagnosed in March 2017

by Paul58 on Sun Jul 09, 2017 9:11 pm

Hey Doug!

So you're going through this, but your positive. can-do attitude will definitely help you to move forward and regain a good level of fitness.

I was really sick by the time I got diagnosed in the fall of 2013 and had lost a good deal of weight. I was so weak I cancelled my gym membership, thinking I'd never get back to any kind of training routine. But 4 months later, I was back in the gym, regaining muscle, weight, and overall fitness.

I'm not a triathlete (my wife does that, as well as marathons), but I'm fit and strong again and have been able to continue working off and on in a physically demanding setting in Africa, with plenty of stamina. I had a slight relapse in December 2016 and just finished 6 months of treatment with Velcade, Cytoxan, and dexamethasone. But this time around I continued with a challenging training routine and I'm feeling great overall.

All that to say, YES! Yes, you can do it! Keep us posted,

Paul

[Doug from AL]

Re: Doug from AL, 56, diagnosed in March 2017

by Doug from AL on Mon Jul 10, 2017 11:54 am

Thanks for all the good wishes everyone! The journey continues as I write this as I progress through the fourth round of induction therapy. So far it has been tolerable, but there have been a few days were getting off the couch was a challenge, mainly in the second half of the last two treat­ment cycles. The worst side effect has been the peripheral neuropathy (PN), which caused my doctor to reduce my Revlimid dose from 25 mg down to 10 mg halfway through the third chemo cycle. I am still experiencing the PN, but not as bad since then. One thing that is helping with the PN is wearing my wool running socks, which are almost as tight as compression socks with the added warmth of wool which breaths better than synthetic socks.

I believe this treatment cycle will be the last for the induction phase unless the post testing shows that my disease has thrown us a curve ball. I have an appointment to see my doctor tomorrow to go over my numbers before I get my next Velcade infusion. Hopefully those numbers will be good for my progressing to the next phase of my treatment.