And then this happened....

So this isn't an internship update, but an important update to share nonetheless.


I've posted before about my family's journey with multiple myeloma, but for some background --  almost 6 years ago to the day, my dad received the diagnosis of MM, a cancer of the plasma cells.  The treatment regimen involves medication therapy, chemotherapy, and a stem cell transplant.  Most patients will experience a brief remission, and recurrance usually occurs within 2-3 years.

But my dad's kind of a special guy.  He went for just over 5 years.  His doctors have been surprised every time he goes for his routine bloodwork that he's still clean, and still staying active and spritely.  He is, after all, only 57 years old this year.

For the last couple of months, he's been battling a pretty nasty chest infection.  He has lung issues to begin with, but this infection has been giving him a lot of trouble.  Last week, he started experiencing chest pain.  Like most people, he took that chest pain straight to the hospital, where he had an ECG and found that he wasn't having a heart attack.  Great!  But the chest pain persisted, sometimes becoming unbearable stabbing pain.  He happened to be due for a routine bloodwork check in the next week or two anyway, so he went to his oncologist early to talk about the chest pain and do the bloodwork all in one shot.  He talked on the weekend about how it felt familiar - like the last time he experienced bone pain and was diagnosed with MM in the first place.  We told him he was exaggerating.  Even the doctor suspected that it was probably a cracked rib, but did the testing just to be sure.


I'll never doubt his instincts again...


His bloodwork confirmed that his MM has returned.  Some time between his last blood test and yesterday, the myeloma started growing, compromising his immune system and contributing to this long lasting chest infection, and is now causing the bone pain he's experiencing in his sternum (chest plate).


So.  Now what.


Obviously my family is devastated.  It's like taking a punch to the gut.  And then getting stomped in the face.  But, dad's a fighter - he came out the first time kicking, and we're confident he's going to kick the crap out of MM again this time.

For now he's taking some major IV antibiotics to get that chest infection under control - no point in going forward with cancer treatment if his immunity is already compromised, since cancer treatment will only make it substantially worse and make more complications.  After the antibiotics, he starts medication therapy for 4 weeks.  From there... well, we don't know.  The next phase of treatment depends on how well he and/or the MM respond to the medication.  Likely, the next phase will be more aggressive treatment - chemotherapy, and his second stem cell transplant.

For the time being, we're dealing and life stays as normal - no one needs to take time off or do much of anything, as it's just medication therapy for now.  But sooner or later things will change for better or worse.  For now, I'd like to ask that you keep my dad in your thoughts and your hearts, and pass along any warm distant hugs that you can to support him in this next stage of his journey.


Want to learn more about multiple myeloma?  This link from the Canadian Cancer Society sums it up nicely.  Also, consider checking out the work of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.