"no evidence of residual multiple myeloma"!

I'm happy to be back in Sandpoint from my 8 day Bethesda & Atlanta trip.
The news from my 100 day re-staging was very good - the Bone Marrow exam was read as "no evidence of residual multiple myeloma"! If I remain in remission for another 2 years I have a 90-95% chance of being "cured". So far, so good.
My other tests included some lung functions (PFTs) that showed a mild drop in vital capacity and diffusion, vs prior to the transplant. This explains the mild shortness of breath I've been experiencing the last month. The NIH doctors had no specific reason for this, but were confident that, now that they're starting to taper me off the Cyclosporine (the immuno suppressant), this, and the other minor problems I've noted lately (muscle and tendon soreness, ankle swelling),should gradually resolve. Indeed, by the time I was seen again at the end of the week, after 7 days on the reduced dose, I was beginning to note improvement.
My side trip to the ASA in Atlanta went well. The meeting was stimulating - reminding me how interesting and fun Anesthesiology can be. I wistfully reminded myself that I need to stick to my plan to put off returning to work for a year after transplant to hopefully avoid setbacks. I enjoyed my stay there in Atlanta with Mike and Brenda Chafin. It's wonderful to see that we still have so much in common after 30+ years. Mike's even taken up serious cycling in the last year. He's lost over 30 lbs and is a fast, strong rider - as I found out on an early morning ride out towards Stone Mountain!
My first day back in Sandpoint I went to our local athletic club and tried the weight machines. I was astounded to discover that I had to drop the settings 25-30% from my last session in June before we left for Bethesda. Just another challenge on the long road back to recovery.
Yesterday was spent on Priest Lake meeting Meg and Tony Goffredo from San Diego. Meg is a lifelong friend of our Lewiston friend Sue Schaefer. Tony is about my age and was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma two years ago. I've been in touch with him by e-mail and phone since Sue told me about him last year. His myeloma has remained stable at a low level, so he hasn't required any treatment. How someone as healthy as Tony got this is even more contrary to conventional wisdom than my case. He's been a vegetarian for 35 years,and he's a marathoner and tri-athlete. First thing everyday he runs for an hour. Then for fun he'll either bicycle 20 miles, golf 18 holes, ski or surf!
Well, I have mail, bills, journals, and "honey-do's" to catch up on. Didn't get much done on that first, brief, stay a couple of weeks ago. I also need to resume my guitar practice that has been on hold during the x-country drive and my recent 8 day trip.

Phil