The Plan
I spent a fair amount of time in the last month communicating by phone and e-mail with numerous myeloma experts in Seattle, Little Rock (AR), Boston, and San Francisco. My sister Lorna was a big help finding articles and providing leads and professional connections.
The consensus was that my next step should be to try the newer myeloma drug Revlimid. I will probably start out by participating in a Revlimid study at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) in Seattle that is specifically for myeloma patients who have relapsed after allogeneic stem cell transplant (which is what I had from my sister Nancy). No one could really advise me either way on participating in the NIH protocol for activated marrow lymphocyte (aML) infusion, since this is apparently the first study of this technique in Myeloma! So my current plan is to first get started with the Revlimid and see if my myeloma responds to it, and how well I tolerate it. Then, down the road, after NIH has accumulated some experience with the aML procedure, I could potentially try that.
Having a Plan, feels good. It means a course of action, a tangible series of steps with specific objectives, and hope.
The two weeks working in Great Falls were productive and rewarding; a welcomed shift of focus away from my personal challenges. The OR there is well run with a good mix of cases. I was able to commute most days on my folding bicycle. I found a nice local Athletic Club where I can swim, and at the end of the first week went skiing at a nice "family" ski area, Showdown, about an hour East of town.
During this current week off (before returning to Great Falls for another one week stint) I've kept busy catching up on paperwork, making up for the monkish social life of a Locums with movies, dinner with friends, and a wine tasting, and skiing and flying.
While in Great Falls I was notified by e-mail that, for the first time in many years, I had "won" a launch date in the Forest Service's River Lottery for the Main Salmon July 10th. I'm in the early stages of planning what should be a great trip!
Phil
posted by Mary Catherine @ 11:37 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Thank you for the update. I appreciate plans, and recognize how things sit when there is none. I look forward to our upcoming adventures. May the snow stay thick through the end of the month. Will any of the kids be home for the weekend of the 21st?
Phil, I felt myself exhaling when you laid out your new course of treatment. I get the thing about having a plan. Of course we love being able to see you when you come here, and were hoping for a March visit, but we will wait and see you and MC in the summer in Idaho. I think winning the Salmon lottery is a good sign..."taking the waters" could only help.
Hugs, Sharon and Peter
Good luck on the new plan, Phil.
Hallie worked in GF a couple of years ago and we spent a few days over there. There are quite a few interesting geocaches and the river path is great.
It's good to be able to catch up with your doings on this blog. I'm happy you have found a plan out there in the forest of so many ideas and solutions. It sounds like a good idea and your backup plan to wait for NIH to get more stats is good.
Our skiing, for the moment has stalled out. Actually did yard work yesterday. Who would imagine how good that feels?
To your good health! Karen
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