I had some big news with this set of labs. I was actually on a video visit with my myeloma specialist when the rest of my labs finally showed up. My wife and I quickly scrolled through them to see if there was anything that we wanted to ask the doctor about.

When we saw the myeloma marker M-band test, we both raised an eyebrow.

“No Homogeneous Band Or Spike Seen”

“Does that mean what I think it means?” I asked the doctor.

“Yes, your M-band reached zero and that’s a very good sign. With that result, it is probable that an MRD test would show zero myeloma cells in a million now.”

!!!!!!!!! (Inside of me)

For Non myelomers, basically what it means is, the cancer is no longer detectable from a blood test. It doesn’t mean I’m cancer free, there is just isn’t enough of it anymore to register. We are going to do another bone marrow MRD test in January, which is a lot more sensitive.

Honestly, I had given up on hitting zero for now, since I didn’t achieve it with the bone marrow transplant.

Then he went on talking about this, that and the other thing. The visit ended and a few minutes later, it really started to sink in. A wave of emotions hit me like a truck. I don’t even know what emotions I had, but it was overwhelming. Happiness? Joy? Relief? Exhaustion? I broke down crying.

An oncologist once told me that only 50% of myeloma patients are able to achieve a zero reading on their M-band, and even less in people who have my myeloma genetics. I’m not tooting my own horn, I’m just trying to convey what it means to me. It’s been one of my goals since the beginning.

I’ve been trying to achieve this result for over 4 years. The number 4 doesn’t sound very large, but it’s been nonstop for me. It’s over 1500 days of trying. Over 36,000 hours of trying to get zero.

Literally drinking thousands of carrots and beets. Hundreds of needle jabs. Days sweating in the sauna. Fevers, throwing up. Truck loads of vegetables. Bags and bags of IVs. Fatigue, like I’m walking up Everest without oxygen. Pounds of turmeric. How am I painting my picture?

I suppose I won’t actually know what ended up flipping the switch for me. Was it just the constant ponding from the chemo that did it? Did adding in the bacteria help? I won’t say I was just lucky, because I don’t believe in randomness when it comes to health. There is a reason, I just won’t ever know the reason.

I know full well that it’s possible it could only be for one month and I could have a reading next month, but I will take my small victory. It’s only a stepping stone for me, with still lots of work to go. I can’t let off the gas. I need to have repeat readings and prolong results of zero.

My other news is, that the Doc and I agreed that I would stop taking the cytoxan and just stay on the carfilzomib. I really can’t stand the cytoxan and I feel intuitively I should stop. It can be a bit scary to stop something that maybe helped stomp the myeloma. But, making decisions based of fear, is something that I try not to do. So, I’m going with my gut (also literally, since it’s shredding my digestive system).

Anyhow, here are some other labs results. My provider changed their system, which made it more difficult to transfer results over. I just picked the main ones I thought people would want to see.

I’m off to go eat some vegetables…..

WBC

Normal range: 3.7 – 11.1 K/uL

Date	Value	Normal Range
Oct 5, 2023	4.9K/uL	3.7 – 11.1 K/uL
Sep 8, 2023	4.8K/uL	3.7 – 11.1 K/uL
Aug 25, 2023	3.8K/uL	3.7 – 11.1 K/uL
Jul 30, 2023	4.1K/uL	3.7 – 11.1 K/uL
Jun 9, 2023	6.6K/uL	3.7 – 11.1 K/uL

RBC’S

Normal range: 4.10 – 5.70 M/uL

Date	Value	Normal Range
Oct 5, 2023	3.15M/uL	4.1 – 5.7 M/uL
Sep 8, 2023	3.19M/uL	4.1 – 5.7 M/uL
Aug 25, 2023	3.25M/uL	4.1 – 5.7 M/uL
Jul 30, 2023	3.57M/uL	4.1 – 5.7 M/uL
Jun 9, 2023	3.65M/uL	4.1 – 5.7 M/uL

HCTNormal range: 39.0 – 51.0 %

Date	Value	Normal Range
Oct 5, 2023	31.2%	39 – 51 %
Sep 8, 2023	31.9%	39 – 51 %
Aug 25, 2023	30.9%	39 – 51 %
Jul 30, 2023	32.7%	39 – 51 %
Jun 9, 2023	35.2%	39 – 51 %

RDW, RBC

Normal range: 12.0 – 16.5 %

Date	Value	Normal Range
Oct 5, 2023	12.9%	12 – 16.5 %
Sep 8, 2023	14.2%	12 – 16.5 %
Aug 25, 2023	13.8%	12 – 16.5 %
Jul 30, 2023	13.5%	12 – 16.5 %
Jun 9, 2023	13.3%	12 – 16.5 %

PLT

Normal range: 140 – 400 K/uL

Date	Value	Normal Range
Oct 5, 2023	116K/uL	140 – 400 K/uL
Sep 8, 2023	150K/uL	140 – 400 K/uL
Aug 25, 2023	127K/uL	140 – 400 K/uL
Jul 30, 2023	129K/uL	140 – 400 K/uL
Jun 9, 2023	109K/uL	140 – 400 K/uL

KAPPA LIGHT CHAIN FREE Normal range: 3.30 – 19.40 mg/L

Date	Value	Normal Range
Oct 7, 2023	5.2mg/L	3.3 – 19.4 mg/L
Aug 25, 2023	5.32mg/L	3.3 – 19.4 mg/L
Jun 9, 2023	6.78mg/L	3.3 – 19.4 mg/L
Mar 2, 2023	3.91mg/L	3.3 – 19.4 mg/L
Feb 3, 2023	2.14mg/L	3.3 – 19.4 mg/L

LAMBDA LIGHT CHAIN FREE, SERPL

Normal range: 5.71 – 26.30 mg/L

Date	Value	Normal Range
Oct 7, 2023	3.03mg/L	5.71 – 26.3 mg/L
Aug 25, 2023	2.66mg/L	5.71 – 26.3 mg/L
Jun 9, 2023	3.86mg/L	5.71 – 26.3 mg/L
Mar 2, 2023	3.45mg/L	5.71 – 26.3 mg/L
Feb 3, 2023	2.92mg/L	5.71 – 26.3 mg/L

KAPP/LAMB FR

Normal range: 0.26 – 1.65

Date	Value	Normal Range
Oct 7, 2023	1.72	0.26 – 1.65
Aug 25, 2023	2	0.26 – 1.65
Jun 9, 2023	1.76	0.26 – 1.65
Mar 2, 2023	1.13	0.26 – 1.65
Feb 3, 2023	0.73	0.26 – 1.65

PROTEIN ELECTROPHORESIS INTERPRETATION, SERUM

No Homogeneous Band Or Spike Seen!!!!!!!!