Yesterday I was worried about Steve's condition, his extreme tiredness. Well when I woke up this morning at 7:00am he was in the kitchen cooking, already dressed and ready to start the day. Thank you Lord.
Like I said before steroids give him a lot of energy but as the doctor told us its a false feeling. It can also make a person more tempermental. Tonight as we were driving to dinner he got upset at another driver and I responded "Its Steroid Man! Heeee's back"! Boy did we have a good laugh.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
"I'm Tired Today"
Steve has felt extremely tired today. This is unusual since today he started taking his steroid, Dexamethasone. When he takes the steroids he gets a lot of energy, eats all day long and always visits me at work. He didn't visit me today, hasn't eaten much and he only left the house to get some lunch. Please pray its just "I'm Tired Today" and only that.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Where We Are Now
Steve has 6 more days until he has completed cycle 2. He has an echo scheduled for March 29th and another blood test to check his m-spike number and then we see the oncologist for the results on April 5th.
We want to thank everyone for their faithful prayers, concern, love and help over the past eight months. To those who have gone above and beyond (You know who you are) we can't thank you enough. We have been so honored to call you friend!
Love Steve and Deanna
We want to thank everyone for their faithful prayers, concern, love and help over the past eight months. To those who have gone above and beyond (You know who you are) we can't thank you enough. We have been so honored to call you friend!
Love Steve and Deanna
Treatment #3
While Steve had been given the latest and greatest in multiple myeloma therapy his oncologist was surprised at how both therapies had been so problematic for him. Between the side effects and lack of response she had to now look to older treatments for help.
So he began chemotherapy number 3, V.A.D which stands for Vincristine, Adriamycin and Dexamethasone (steroid).
Due to the toxicity of Adriamycin to the heart the oncologist would monitor Steve closely with the cardiologist conducting an echocardiogram after each treatment. He’s already had two echos. The first one in August showed his heart to be very strong (77%) the second in January was at 68%.
The chemo is administered over a 96 hour period via a picc line he had surgically inserted in his upper arm. It makes bathing quite challenging since it cannot get wet. The Vincristine and the Adriamycin are pumped into his body through the picc line by a portable pump which he carries with him for 4 days. The Dexamethsone pills are taken orally. He takes 40mg a day for four days on days 1-4, 9-12 and 17-20.
His side effects include severe neuropathy which causes him a lot of pain and hair loss. Many days he will tell you he doesn’t feel good. But it’s hard to tell if it’s the myeloma or the chemo.
He had his third echo on March 1st and we were amazed that his number went up, from 68% to 71%. God is good.
Steve is doing much, much better on this chemo. He is no longer home bound, he is driving again, has much more energy (must be the steroids) and visits me at work all the time.
He did have a major problem in February. On day three of his treatment his neck starting hurting and by 7:00 pm he had a fever. After calling the doctor on call we went to the ER. Through the long hours of the night it became very painful for him to swallow and to breath. After a cat scan, ultrasound and blood tests it was discovered he had an infection in his left carotid artery which had traveled down into his chest. Luckily they had started him on a broad-spectrum antibiotic when we arrived so he was back at home in two days.
So he began chemotherapy number 3, V.A.D which stands for Vincristine, Adriamycin and Dexamethasone (steroid).
Due to the toxicity of Adriamycin to the heart the oncologist would monitor Steve closely with the cardiologist conducting an echocardiogram after each treatment. He’s already had two echos. The first one in August showed his heart to be very strong (77%) the second in January was at 68%.
The chemo is administered over a 96 hour period via a picc line he had surgically inserted in his upper arm. It makes bathing quite challenging since it cannot get wet. The Vincristine and the Adriamycin are pumped into his body through the picc line by a portable pump which he carries with him for 4 days. The Dexamethsone pills are taken orally. He takes 40mg a day for four days on days 1-4, 9-12 and 17-20.
His side effects include severe neuropathy which causes him a lot of pain and hair loss. Many days he will tell you he doesn’t feel good. But it’s hard to tell if it’s the myeloma or the chemo.
He had his third echo on March 1st and we were amazed that his number went up, from 68% to 71%. God is good.
Steve is doing much, much better on this chemo. He is no longer home bound, he is driving again, has much more energy (must be the steroids) and visits me at work all the time.
He did have a major problem in February. On day three of his treatment his neck starting hurting and by 7:00 pm he had a fever. After calling the doctor on call we went to the ER. Through the long hours of the night it became very painful for him to swallow and to breath. After a cat scan, ultrasound and blood tests it was discovered he had an infection in his left carotid artery which had traveled down into his chest. Luckily they had started him on a broad-spectrum antibiotic when we arrived so he was back at home in two days.
Treatment #2
Since Steve was allergic to the Revlimid he started on a new chemotherapy in October. It was a combination of Velcade, Doxil and Dexamethasone. The chemo is administered via i.v. on set days within a 21 day cycle for a period of 12 weeks. He would receive Velcade on days 1, 4, 8 and 11 and he would get Doxil on day 4. The Dexamethasone was given on all 4 days. Days 12 to 21 were “rest” days. He was to get Zometa (a bone strengthener) once a month.
The first 5 weeks went well, but soon after the side effects began. He experienced neuropathy (burning and tingling) in his hands and feet, weight loss, multiple skin problems, swallowing problems, fevers, muscle weakness and pain that traveled all over his body.
He took to staying in the recliner all day, getting up only to go to the bathroom. In mid December he contracted a C-difficile infection that wiped him out completely.
He did not complete the last cycle of chemo and was unable to have the final dose of Doxil. On New Year’s Eve he had an episode of Superventricular Tachycardia. At this point his treatments were stopped. Since Doxil can be dangerous for the heart Steve had to see a cardiologist before we could move forward with any other chemotherapy.
The oncologist also ordered a new metastatic bone survey (fancy name for a full body x-ray) and a new blood test. Fortunately he didn’t have to have another bone marrow biopsy.
With everything we had been through it was disappointing to find out that his M-spike was the same. The cancer had not decreased but on the bright side it was not any worse and his bones looked the same as in September. The cardiologist gave him a good report and said there was no underlying cause that he could see that caused the tachycardia.
So onto Chemotherapy #3
The first 5 weeks went well, but soon after the side effects began. He experienced neuropathy (burning and tingling) in his hands and feet, weight loss, multiple skin problems, swallowing problems, fevers, muscle weakness and pain that traveled all over his body.
He took to staying in the recliner all day, getting up only to go to the bathroom. In mid December he contracted a C-difficile infection that wiped him out completely.
He did not complete the last cycle of chemo and was unable to have the final dose of Doxil. On New Year’s Eve he had an episode of Superventricular Tachycardia. At this point his treatments were stopped. Since Doxil can be dangerous for the heart Steve had to see a cardiologist before we could move forward with any other chemotherapy.
The oncologist also ordered a new metastatic bone survey (fancy name for a full body x-ray) and a new blood test. Fortunately he didn’t have to have another bone marrow biopsy.
With everything we had been through it was disappointing to find out that his M-spike was the same. The cancer had not decreased but on the bright side it was not any worse and his bones looked the same as in September. The cardiologist gave him a good report and said there was no underlying cause that he could see that caused the tachycardia.
So onto Chemotherapy #3
Revlimid
In September Steve started taking Revlimid. It was simple and easy. All he had to do was take 1 pill a day for 21 days! But after 3 days his head began itching and his ears were red. So the doctor advised him to stop for a few days. A week later he started taking the pills again. 3 days later a rash appeared on his thighs. He continued with the medication and we followed up with a dermatologist. During this time he also suffered from severe leg cramps (common side effect) and back pain.
The pain became so bad I took him to the emergency room. This is when we found out he had two compression fractures in his spine (most common problem associated with myeloma). We stopped the Revlimid (he was allergic to it) and he was scheduled for surgery. Apparently his myeloma was more aggressive then what was previously thought.
A prochedure known as vertebroplasty was done. Basically surgical cement was inserted into the vertebre to help stabilize them and relieve his pain, which it did.
The pain became so bad I took him to the emergency room. This is when we found out he had two compression fractures in his spine (most common problem associated with myeloma). We stopped the Revlimid (he was allergic to it) and he was scheduled for surgery. Apparently his myeloma was more aggressive then what was previously thought.
A prochedure known as vertebroplasty was done. Basically surgical cement was inserted into the vertebre to help stabilize them and relieve his pain, which it did.
The Beginning
I want to give everyone some background on what has happened since we found out Steve has Multiple Myeloma. In August Steve was given a battery of tests to determine how much cancer there was (Staging) and if any damage had occurred to his bones. We were given a lot of good news and some bad. The good news included his bones had no holes, his Chromosome test were perfect and his kidneys and liver were fine. The bad news was 70% of the plasma cells were myeloma cells. So began his treatment.
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