[elizabethmwm]

Velcade and dex after relapse

by elizabethmwm on Sun Aug 30, 2015 7:44 pm

My numbers (IgG, M-spike, light chains) are starting to creep up after a stem cell transplant (SCT) in February 2013 and 2+ years on Revlimid 5 mg (21 days on, 7 days off). My doctor at MD Anderson has stopped the Revlimid and is starting me on Velcade and dex (20 mg). I see my local oncologist tomorrow and will pass on all the paperwork and doctor's notes to her. She will implement the MD Anderson plan.

I took Velcade during induction therapy and tolerated it well. Not sure what to expect second go at it. Any one gone this route? How often were your labs done? Any lab values that kept you from getting treatment?

Any information, comments, suggestions, etc. will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[LarryG]

Re: Velcade and dex after relapse

by LarryG on Tue Sep 01, 2015 1:52 am

Hi Elizabeth,

I have been on a regimen of Velcade and dex for 8 years. I take one injection of Velcade per week, three weeks on and one week off. Also take 40 mg of dex on the same days I get the Velcade. So far, other than constipation (which I can handle with natural laxatives), I have essentially no side effects, no neuropathy. I have been in remission since February 2009. I also take 400 mg of acyclovir per day to prevent shingles.

Now that Velcade is available in injectable form as opposed to intravenous treatment, side effects have been diminished.

Good luck on your treatment and hope you have the same success that I have had with the Velcade / dex regimen.

Regards,
Larry Gaito

[Kenny Don]

Re: Velcade and dex after relapse

by Kenny Don on Wed Sep 02, 2015 3:10 am

Hello Elizabeth.

It is almost eerie reading your history track. I was diagnosed in November 2012, at 65 years old. No symptoms at all. Primary care doc saw something. The rest is history. We kept hoping for smoldering. By September 2013, there was no choice. MIRT, in Little Rock, Arkansas, has a great track record, so we went there, There were eleven months of hot chemo, in residence, and two stem cell transplants. In August 2014, we went on Velcade, Revlimid, and dex (VRD) maintenance with multiple myeloma in complete remission. Weekly lab showed consistently low numbers with the red blood count the most bothersome. Trips for check up to Little Rock were set at ninety days.

Then in January of this year a spot showed up in my left lung. I never have been a smoker. In April, I lost my complete left lung. Recovery has gone remarkably well. Lab has stayed the same. MIRT cut off the Revlimid and retained the Velcade at 1. And the dex at 12. We are hoping that, after I clean up from the Revlimid (?), the red count will start healing. Oncology doc here in Fort Smith keeps a very close scrutiny of the absolute neutrophil count.

Through all of this, I have not had consistent or negative reactions to any of it. Docs and friends are astonished at how well and healthy I appear. The check up schedule to MIRT has been changed to six months. They will not, however, entertain my suggestions to shorten the maintenance protocol. Oh, well, God has been exceedingly good and supportive from start to current.

There is a question about the possibility that the chemo may have burnt my stem cells a bit, so that they cannot produce as many red cells as I want. Have you heard of anything like that?

I am strong and active, but not deep in endurance. I told my onco the other day I could throw him through the exam room door, but, I could do it only once. He got a kick out of that. My wife is amazed that, once I find my pace, I can go like the battery bunny.

I don't quite qualify as one who can talk to relapse issues. But, maybe my history track will prove to be encouraging. They say multiple myeloma is incurable but controllable. I want to be the first man in medical history to be said to have been completely healed. God can do that!

I look forward to hearing from you on this forum. G-Dad