Will you still love me to-marrow - John Mycroft and Multiple Myeloma

Yesterday I turned up at Cancer Care to get a dose of chemo and was told, much to my puzzlement but eventual delight, that I wasn't going to get one.  I am done with that stuff.  And, once I have finished my 25mg Revlimid capsules, I will be going on to a 10mg dose.  Brilliant!  I don't know if I still need to keep taking my fortnightly steroids - I sincerely hope not.  Presumably I will find out more when I see Dr M next Friday.

Susan & I spent the day pottering around variously waiting for the eclipse.  Everyone has made such a ginormous hoohah over it that we decided to watch from home and a good time was had by both, even getting a bit of exercise lugging comfy chairs out to the front stoup to watch the world go dark.  Yesterday I plucked up the courage to ref 3 games in the local tournament - I wasn't sure how running up and down in typical Asheville heat was going to agree with me but I cunningly managed to take to the sideline on the shady side of the field for the first 2 games.  The third (and final) game I paid for my sins by taking the centre spot in direct sun but survived anyway.  Alas, I did make one ghastly mistake which gave a team a goal that they shouldn't have been awarded.  Even worse, their coach was nice about it which made me feel really bad.  To be fair to me, the team that got the unfair goal deserved to win anyway (it was a draw).  I think I will s...

Ignore my previous post - my brother Bob doesn't have cancer after all.  Best bit of news I've had all year.  So to celebrate I am on my way to Vancouver to spend a few days with him and his family.  I will try not to destroy my foot on his fold out bed (again).

Previous rounds of chemo have been largely non-events for me - no nausea, slight side effects around the gut and brain but not much of a big deal.  This has changed with my new infusion of carfilzomib.  I'm taking it along with Revlimid and it has some odd effects.  For starters, it makes me progressively more dopy as the infusion - which takes half an hour - progresses.  It feels, I imagine, a bit like being executed slowly as I gradually lose the power to think.  I should probably stop driving myself home from the appointments.  It kills my appetite, too which is something I don't enjoy - no nausea but no hunger, either. It costs a bloody fortune and I am very grateful to Medicare for footing the bill.  (It would cost less had a previous US government not forbidden Medicare to negotiate prices with drug companies, an immensely incomprehensible idea.)  I suspect that it would not be available in New Zealand at all though I could be wrong.  ...