Nothing to worry about (as yet) but it's been a bit of a whirlwind-like start to the year in terms of visits to my second home at CCL and the Dark Side of Parkside.
Started this year's round of treatment on Thursday 2nd January with the usual delightful double dose of Daratumumb and Velcade. Cue bright red stomach where the injections go, much itching and delightful flaky skin that breaks up due to the nasty old chemicals. On the upside, Prof has – somewhat out of the blue – decided to stop giving me the pre-meds, so for the first time in 9 years of this treatment, I didn't have the steroids, anti-histamine or paracetamols to swallow. This also removes up to 1 hour from the process, so any little change like that is always a bonus.
I was then back up there on the Friday for my 6 monthly PET CT scan, in the big metal van that somehow squeezes itself into an inexplicably small space by the front hedge. Bloody freezing in there as it was icy that week, and the 'blanket' they give you is basically imaginary gossamer, woven from baby's breath and unicorn cobwebs.
Back again on the Monday for the second dose of Velcade, most of the staff back in by now, including a couple of new faces – will see if they are temps or last the course.
And back yet again for dose three at the end of that week, still managing to say no to the offered biscuits (they've gone downhill again, a three pack of custard creams or hair shirt oat biscuits in a see-through wrapper – bring back those nice butterscotch shortbreads in the Borders packs!)
All topped off with the 6 monthly bone marrow biopsy this Wed. It didn't start well as got an 8.30am phone call saying 'we've made a mistake, can you come in at 10am instead of 12 noon as your letter says?'. Well no – because I was having a (very important, obvs) haircut. Anyway, they sorted it out and I went in at 12 and was out by 4pm. All pretty swift and straight forward, the usual blood-soaked plaster on my hip (charming) and general soreness for a few days, but nothing new to report.
Linda texted me to say that the PET CT was clear – hurrah! It has been for the last 2 in 2024, so I was hoping to keep up a clean run.
The big one now is the bone marrow biopsy result, as that had evidence of active myeloma cells in it, on both tests last year. So – am very much hoping that the numbers haven't increased. Not quite sure when I'll hear (if its good news she will probably text when we are away next week, but if its not and there's an ominous silence that might tell the story by itself!) I'm back seeing Prof on 29th January anyway, so it won't be that long either way. He's been mooting a change in treatment for my last few times of seeing him, so keep ALL your fingers crossed please that the scores have remained relatively low and he has to put any change on the back burner for the new few months at least.
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