As the subhead implies, to set the record straight, the strain of Multiple Myeloma that I have is incurable. At some point I will relapse (the slow multiplication of Myeloma cells in my system will increase to an intrusive level). I won’t collapse when I relapse, nor will my life be in mortal danger. However, the situation will need to be addressed.
As part of the process of monitoring this cell-division advancement, I have comprehensive blood-work done every six weeks. Deep DNA analysis scours my system for any signs of a spike in the presence of Myeloma cells in my bloodstream. As further impediment against this eventuality, I take a small dose of chemotherapy (one Revlimid 10mg pill every other day - for those pharmacologists among you).
For those statisticians among you (we try to offer a little something for everyone) the amount of time before my relapse will occur is so hard to predict (theoretically years into the future), that it is nearly impossible to calculate. If pressed, one might offer a wild guess of 7 - 10 years.
And for the optimists among us (I include myself among this group), Dr. S. has loosely postulated that a cure will be available before my relapse even happens. Not one to recklessly look at the world through rose-colored glasses, and someone who lives on the bleeding edge of MM research, I’d say his prognostication is a fairly safe bet.
So as I have practiced since Day 1 of my Cancer Count, I’ll take my meds, and go with the advice of Dr. S. And if time is not on my side, I’ve got a bag of my stem cells on ice in a freezer somewhere in Piscataway, NJ waiting for another Stem Cell transplant - giving me a likely additional ten more years + So feel free to lend me large sums of money, I’ve got plenty of time to pay you back.
