I recently had my first quarterly checkup since completing my treatment earlier this year. My lab results showed that everything (red and white blood cell counts, immunoglobulins, etc.) was back in the normal range, or very close to it, and there was no sign of M-proteins. The doctor indi­cated I looked to be in great shape and wished he were as fit as I am.

As a side note, when people say they wish they were as fit as I am, I can't help but think to myself that I would rather be in their shoes if it meant I could get rid of multiple myeloma, since I can always do something about getting in shape.

So if I'm in remission and doing so well, why don't I feel that great?

Since completing my treatment, I've had a number of things bothering me, including joint stiffness and pain, upper rib cage discomfort, numbness in my neck and left arm, muscle pains in my calves, limited range of motion, and somewhat poorer vision.

All of these have shown up since I stopped treatment, with the exception of the rib cage discomfort, which occurred several times during my treatment but is more consistent now. I also think the neck and arm numbness may be related to wrenching my neck last fall, but it wasn't this evident while I was on treatment (perhaps due to the steroids). Furthermore, of all the issues, this is the only one that's been getting better.

What I can't figure out is whether these issues are a result of the cancer, my cancer treatment, old age, or something else?

My initial worry was whether they were cancer related. As many people in remission will indicate, every little ache and pain can make you wonder if the cancer is coming back. However, since I'm so recently in re­mission, and given the results of my first checkup, I'm pretty sure it's not the cancer.

Instead, I am concerned whether these could be the long-term effects of infusing my body with poisonous drugs for two years, and if so, whether they are permanent or will go away over time. Or conversely, at age 55, are these just the results of getting older and I would have felt this way regardless?

I discussed these issues with my oncologist since I have read  that some of them are similar to the symp­toms of steroid withdrawal. He indicated that some patients have experienced similar issues, but they gen­er­al­ly clear up within a two to three months and I should not be experiencing them this long after treat­ment.

I also asked whether the calcium supplements I've been taking could contribute to my joint pain. While it can happen on occasion, he did not think this was the case. We nevertheless decided to discontinue the sup­ple­ments on the off chance it could be part of the problem.

Finally, to cover another possibility, I also had tests done for rheumatoid arthritis. However, these came back negative, so we're at a bit of a loss as to a cause. Since this is getting outside the realm of my oncologist’s field of expertise, I'll be looking into it further with my primary care physician.

My personal opinion is that much of this is still related to the treatment I was on. Part of it may be the effects of withdrawal, and some may be damage done as a result of the drugs I was on.  Therefore, I'm planning on trying to purge my system of the drugs I was taking, and have been looking into methods for detoxing my system.

I've also been researching a lot about nutrition, and plan to change my diet to promote better cleansing of my system.  I'll probably write more about this in a future column.

While this column has been about what two years of chemo has done to me, I would be remiss to ignore what has it done for me. I have reached remission, and my few issues and side effects are not all that sig­nif­icant, particularly compared to what a lot of patients go through.  The bottom line is I'm actually doing quite well and hopefully the issues I am experiencing will subside with time.

Peace, and live for a cure.