TAB wrote his update as a comment to the post I wrote about him back in 2012, but I decided that this update should be turned into a post, as follows…

TAB’s Update 7/9/2021
Smoldering 20 years, progression 2 years, Velcade for 4 months = complete remission.
My journey with IgA Lambda Multiple Myeloma has been a long one. At age 80 I am finally in complete remission. During the first 20 years I took only over the counter supplements which in my opinion kept the beast at bay. I plotted the results of my blood tests using Excel and relied on the trend lines to keep track of how I was doing. After a few years of supplements my M-spike leveled off and then started decreasing. This was not a cure by any means but it seemed to keep the beast at bay for 20 years with no CRAB symptoms. Then something caused the M-spike to progress from about 3000 mg/dl to almost 6000. A bone marrow biopsy showed 60%. Some results were approaching CRAB levels. At this point is was a no brainer, I had to consider treatment for overt MM. I discussed my options with by Oncologist and we decided on VRD (Velcade, Revlimid and Dexamethasone). Due to the high cost of Revlimid we (mostly me) decided to do the Velcade SQ and Dex (20 mg) only. After 15 Velcade subcutaneous injections in the tummy and 20 mg of DEX once per week over a 4 month period my blood work showed a remarkable return to normal levels. The only side effects were mild peripheral neuropathy (tingling sensation) in my toes. My latest blood work (7/9/2021) 5 months post Velcade treatments included : CBC, Platelet Count, Serum Electrophoresis, Beta-2 Microglobulin, Immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG and IgM), Complete Metabolic Profile, Kappa /Lambda serum Light Chains and Serum Immunofixation. A copy is included in my report. Of all of these tests only one test was flagged low and that was IgM. I have never had a blood test this good in my entire life! The most important result was the Immunofixation test showing “no monoclonals present”. This is according to my doctor a very sensitive test. My doctors conclusion, and I quote, “You are in complete remission and I tell my myeloma patients about your results”! I am back on my supplements which I am hoping will keep me in remission as long as possible. Of course there are no guarantees. My next blood work is in 4 months. I have documented all of my blood work and my supplement regimen in my latest report. If anyone would like a copy of my report they can E-mail me at tabbat41@hotmail.com. Best of luck to all fellow MM’s. TAB

Well, many things have happened in the past month or so, except for finding the time…well, okay, to be honest, except for finding the desire to write a post (yes, I’m, still at a bit of a standstill there, unfortunately…not sure why…oh well).

But everything else is, well, stable, or as stable as it can be, which is positive.

Peekaboo, however, gave us a BIG scare about two weeks ago. I really thought she was on her way…out. Actually, in retrospect, it’s kind of a funny story (?), so here goes…

One morning I noticed that Peekaboo wasn’t responsive. She hadn’t come down to have breakfast with the other cats, as she always does. She was upstairs, fast asleep on the guest room bed. She didn’t even lift her head when I came into the room, which was also very unusual. She’s a big talker, you see, and she likes to meow (complain) at me whenever I’m within a few feet of her.

I didn’t want to wake her up…didn’t know what to do, really…but I felt that something was wrong. I called the vet clinic and spoke with a vet who agreed that she should be seen as soon as possible. An emergency appointment. The vet’s voice was not very encouraging. You may remember that Peekaboo has an inoperable, malignant sarcoma near her nose…

As soon as I put the phone down, I burst into tears. I thought this was the end. Memories flooded my mind, upsetting me even more. I went to get the cat carrier, which we keep in the room where Peekaboo was sleeping.

And then, as I pulled out the carrier, I heard a familiar “meow, meow, MEOW?!!!” behind me. Loud and clear. I turned around, and there she was, that little rascal, sitting up in bed with both eyes wide open (her left eye is usually half closed now, see photo), giving me a piece of her mind about the cat carrier, I presumed.

She proceeded to get up and jump off the bed with the grace of a ballerina, no kidding, and went downstairs to eat. Ahhhh, cats! I canceled the appointment at the vet clinic. I did take her to the vet the following week for a just-in-case check-up. A good thing I did that, too: the inside of her mouth was red and inflamed. The vet gave her two shots of cortisone and antibiotics. She’s going to have to have these shots every two weeks, perhaps for the rest of her life. Incidentally, she’s doing well, all things considered.

Anyway, that’s just one thing…keeping a close eye on Peekaboo…

Another is that we also finally (almost) finished our kitchen renovation. What a headache that has been. Now that it’s (almost) over, I can say it was worth it, but a few weeks ago I’d had enough and wished we’d just kept our old kitchen, which we’d had for 20 years. But okay, in the end it was worth it: we now have a beautiful kitchen with a big island (our dark old kitchen only had very narrow, impractical countertops). We love it. So do the kitties. The photo shows Potter on the island…

And of course I’ve been following what is happening with the Covid-19 pandemic, the vaccine issues, etc. Unfortunately, Tuscany isn’t doing that well right now. We’re still in a red zone, and the hospitals are full. I’ve been in self-isolation now for ages, it seems. I leave the house, double-masked, only for emergencies…like taking a cat to the vet. Otherwise, I’m at home all the time, which is fine, since I have plenty to do here.

Anyway, enough blabbering for today. Stay safe, everyone, and wear your  masks!!! Take care! Ciao!

P.S. As I re-read my post, I almost erased the part about the kitchen renovation. In a difficult moment like this one, it seemed like such a silly,  boring piece of fluff. But then I thought that sometimes we all need a bit of…fluff. So I left it in…

A few days ago I discovered that my blog reader/friend Dieneke Ferguson had died months ago, in October. She had been diagnosed with MM in her 50s for which she had undergone many conventional treatments. When she was left with no options (but the final one!!!), many years ago, she came across my blog, got in touch with me, and began taking curcumin, which managed to stabilize her so much so that in 2018 she was interviewed by BBC Radio 4. That interview, if my memory serves me correctly, was picked up by other news agencies. Dieneke became quite well-known.

Unfortunately, she later developed ovarian cancer. The last time we communicated, she was undergoing conventional treatments. Well, with all that was going on here in Florence, I didn’t hear of her death last October.

Dieneke and I had planned to meet someday…In fact, she had invited Stefano and me to stay with her so many times; I’m sad to say, however, that we never met in the flesh. But even so, I was attached to Dieneke, her spirit, her optimism…Her death greatly saddens me.

Here is an article about her: http://bit.ly/3pcJrkd

Ciao, Dieneke…