I donât feel like writing a lot about my labs this month, because Iâm getting bored with talking about bloodwork.
The only thing that I wanted to briefly talk about is that my m-band is back to nothing. Obviously that is important to me, but I wanted to point it out just so other people going through car-t, see that m-band can fluctuate. I feel like thatâs significant for other people to see, since shared information is hard to find.
Having it be zero and then having a hint of something and then back to zero is something that can be stressful. When I spoke to my specialist earlier in the month, he said science at this point just doesnât have a good understanding of how it all works.
I just have to keep hoping for it to stay at zero.
Here are my latest numbers. I find myself holding my breath every month still. Last month, my m-band showed up with a value of detectable but not quantifiable, which of course I was not happy about. This month it was the same. (M-band indicates an excess of abnormal antibodies (M-proteins) in the blood, and can be caused by myeloma or by a few other reasons.)
My doc says there are no signs of myeloma; Iâm not sure if I believe him with that showing up on my m-band. Although, I donât know what to believe in general within myself. It could be cancer, it also could be my post car-t immune system. Only time will tell. My light chains are normal, so thatâs good. My lambdas went into normal range this month. They have been low since my car-t, which I guess is a year old now.
I guess I havenât really written about growing mushrooms here on my blog. Iâve been posting a bit about it on instagram. Anyhow, I started growing gourmet and medicinal mushrooms in May, I believe. It was a bit of a learning curve to it, and Iâm still learning, but I have a lot of it down by now. Growing mushrooms here at home has left me, at times, with quite a surplus of mushrooms. So Iâve been eating lots of them everyday.
Something that I learned in the last few months is that mushroom organism (mycelium) is still alive and active for up to 48 hours after the mushrooms have been picked. Being picked fresh and then consumed has exposed my cells to something different.
The reason for my seemingly random tangent is when I was looking at my CBC last month and particularly this month (itâs easier to see the trend), I was surprised to see the spike up in my red blood cells, hemoglobin, and hematocrit. Itâs quite noticeable on a data point graph (posted below).
When there is a change, I like to look and see what has happened since. Not much has changed in my life other than my consumption of new and a lot of mushrooms. It could be for other reasons, but it makes me wonder if mushrooms are responsible. The four mushrooms that Iâve been growing are pink and yellow oysters (gourmet), lionâs mane (gourmet and medicinal), and reishi (medicinal). But perhaps that is for another post.
In any case, Iâm left with another month of mental torment, wondering if the myeloma is percolating or if the cancer gods are just messing with me. Just keep walking is what I tell myself. Iâm off to get another round of IVIG to help my poor immune system.
Itâs been a pretty crazy last couple of months in my myeloma world. My March labs were a bit iffy. Things looked pretty good, but I still had a hint of myeloma showing up. We were going to do a bone marrow biopsy, but that never happened due to something on the doctorâs end.
I went into Aprilâs labs expecting more of the same, crossing my fingers for zeros. Most of my labs came back in the normal time frame, light chains still normal or low. My immunofixation electrophoresis (which is a myeloma blood test) didnât come back in the normal time frame.
âWhatâs going on?â I asked myself. âWhere are the results?â
The days went by, and they didnât result. Finally, half of it resulted late in the week, and it showed a reading of my m-band of .2. Previously I was at zero, so this was not good.
The second part of the test came back that afternoon, and I didnât think it was going to show anything new, so I casually opened it and looked at it.
âPositive for IGM Kappaâ.
âWHAT?!?â
My version of myeloma is IGG Lambda. Why is it showing IGM Kappa?
Did the labs mix up my blood with someone elseâs blood? I read the notes from the lab, and it says they ran the blood twice from two different vials to double check due to my igg lambda history. It was correct.
A quick search, and I found out it is possible to have double light chain myeloma. Itâs like having myeloma twice. Itâs very rare, and in only 1% of people with myeloma.
âFace-slapâ
What did I do?
After a few moments, I turned on some snappy music and started to dance.
Can I dance?
No
This is really bad news. Why am I dancing?
Because at this point, I said, âSeriously f*** you cancer.â âIf you are going to be so bent on killing me, we are going to do things my way. I wonât let you drag me down. Iâm going to keep living until Iâm not.â
Thatâs why Iâm dancing.
Normally, I look at my labs with my wife, but I didnât think it was going to be anything, so she wasnât there when I opened it. I had to tell her the news. It was like placing a 500 pound sack on her shoulders. Being the loved one of someone who has cancer has to be one of the hardest things in the world to endure. I think most people donât realize this, and it is greatly underacknowledged what they go through. Itâs not the same as having cancer, but I think itâs up there on the toughness scale.
I expected a phone call from my doctor, but it never came.
I just kept living my life as much as like normal as I could for the next month. Another round of ivig came the next month, and another round of blood tests.
The timing of the return of the tests was similar. Light chains came first.
Light Chains –Low / Ratio – normal
I had to wait another day and a half until my protein electrophoresis came back. My wife and I nervously opened the first one. How much had things progressed in a month, I wondered?
M-band – zero
âWowâ, we said.
We held our breath on the second part of the result as we opened it since this was the one that showed IGM Kappa (or IGG Lambda).
Normal – no trace of IGM IGA IGG kappa or lambda.
My wife and I looked at each other speechless. We werenât quite sure what to say. One, because of my previous monthâs crappy labs, and second, for this being the first time in 6 years that Iâve had a normal result.
I had a meeting with my myeloma specialist a few days later. Zoom kicked on and the doctor first thing looks at me and says âyou know, Jothi, Iâve never met anyone like you.â
âUmm thanks?â
He went on to talk about the IGM kappa showing up.
âI called up the lab director to make sure there was no mistake.â
âItâs unheard of someone developing a second mutation from a car-t. Maybe the cancer mutated with itâs dying breath.â
âItâs uncommon for a person to zero out this far out from a car-t.â (I was at 9.5 months post car-t)
âItâs also unheard of, a month later, the new cancer mutation being wiped out. There is no trace of myeloma in your blood. Iâve never seen this before, and I have no explanation.â
A few months ago, they were talking about putting me on treatment again. They wanted a bone marrow biopsy first, which never happened. The doctor is now throwing around the âCâ word (cured), which Iâve personally never heard one say before. Iâm left asking myself if something special just happened?
Now being a statical anomaly, Iâm left wondering why with no answers. Did my car-t strategy of supporting my t-cells have an effect?
Itâs too early to tell anything, and I know full well things can flip back the other way around quickly. I try not to get too low when bad things happen, the same goes for trying not to get too high when things go right. I still need a bone marrow biopsy to check things out on a cellular level. Without that being zero, this could be just a blip in the road. Even if it is zero, I need to be zero and maintain that for a few years before I can relax and let some breath out. Cancer is just that unpredictable and volatile.
My point with this post is not to toot my own horn or have people congratulate me. Iâve been playing the cancer game for a number of years now. Iâve been around a lot of people challenged by cancer, and I know firsthand how dire things can be at times and frankly have periods of hopelessness.
Obviously, Iâm thrilled with the ways things have gone in the past month personally. I would be equally thrilled if my tale could lift someone else up and give them a reason for hope. That unexpected things can and do happen if you just keep dancing.
Here are my latest set of numbers for curious people. Itâs been around 5 months since I had my car-t cell infused. By the looks of it though, I still have cancer in my blood at this point. I asked the doctor about it, and he said my having a value for my m-band didnât necessarily mean I have malignant cells still circulating, and that sometimes it just takes awhile for the m-band to clear.
It has never taken me this long to clear my m-band, and it feels like a bit of sugarcoating on his part. But Iâm trying to keep an open mind about it. I find my anxiety level is a lot higher after my car-t, which come to read recently, can be a side effect of car-t.
My light chains are still obliterated, which is good on the cancer front. In December, my m-band had a 50% drop, from .4 to .2, which I was pretty excited about. In January though, my m-band didnât seem to move at all, which I feel kind of stinks.
Although to be fair, my December test, I could have been at .2999 and it would still show .2, and now I could be at .2001, which would also show as .2. The test isnât that sensitive though, so Iâm having to try and not worry about it for another month until my next test.
My reds in my blood are still lousy. They never recovered after my stem cell transplant and are beat up more from the car-t. But they could be worse, so Iâm still eating my plant iron to try to support them.
I had a new blood test done in December called TBNK Single Platform. It is a test that measured my various T cell levels, which I found pretty fascinating. In a nutshell, after some research, my low CD4 reading is normal after car-t, and it means that I have low immunity against germs and viruses. CD4 T cells also support cancer-killing T cells to do their job, so low isnât the best, but itâs expected. They just have to work hard.
My CD8 T cells are high, which means my genetically engineered cells are doing quite well, multiplying and there are plenty of them to do their job of disposing of myeloma. I guess I just need them to get in all the little nooks and crannies in my body to do their job completely.
Overall, I do feel pretty good. Being off all treatment is awesome. Iâve taken up jogging again, which does feel good to move my body, get my heart pounding hard, and work out my lungs.
I did get sick at the beginning of January, which did end up sending me to the emergency room. My sickness wasnât too bad, and honestly it did tick me off that I had to go to the ER. My fever spiked up to 102.4 and thatâs what earned me the trip. It was just a run of the mill virus after all the tests that were done. It has taken me 2 weeks to mostly get over it, though. My wife caught it from me, and it took her only 3 days to get over it.
Well, Iâm going to attempt to just write something quick, Iâm not sure if Iâll succeed. Iâve had more blood tests done and more doctorâs office visits. We ran some myeloma labâs recently to start to check on the results of our efforts.
My light chains have practically disappeared. Everyone is supposed to be in normal range for normal blood formation. Iâm now low on both. Just as a reminder, I have lambda myeloma, meaning I get too many lambda light chains. In my last test, my lambdas were at 157, which was too many. So those Car-Ts are doing their job, and then some.
My M-band is dragging its feet, as it normally does. It would have been nice to see a big fat zero, but maybe thatâs just me being greedy. It has only been a few weeks since the Cars were infused in. At least itâs on its way down.
I had my first of six planned monthly infusions of IV-IG, which is an infusion of antibodies. The Car-T cells kill off antibodies as well as the myeloma cells. They are programmed to search for cells that have the BCMA protein, which both myeloma and regular plasma cells have. Which is also why Iâm becoming immune compromised again. Although my neutrophils are now over 2, which is in normal range.
I had the nurse put in an IV to draw my blood and then set me up on the IV-IG to save myself a hole.
âThis is not how we typically do thisâ, she informed me. âUsually you have your labs done in the lab, and then a nurse sets you up with an IV once you are in the infusion chairâ.
âSorry for the trouble,â I said.
I believe that doctors and nurses are so exposed to medical things, they get desensitized and set in their ways. They forget that a patient could be doing something for the first time (not that I was) or what could be best for a patient.
Itâs just a very human response, so I wasnât upset or anything. It was just a good reminder that everyone is human, doing human things, no matter who they are or what their job is.
When I was in sales years ago, I got very desensitized to spending other peopleâs money. Spending 5-10k of someoneâs money was no big deal for me. It was an interesting learning experience for me once I realized it, and I started putting myself in other peopleâs shoes more often.
Besides, I refuse to be a typical cancer patient. If I was, with my myeloma genetics, I would have been dead years ago. Letâs see if I can get my atypical T cells to get rid of the myeloma, more than typical.
Looks like I havenât written anything for awhile. For no particular reason; I guess I just havenât felt inspired. HmmâŚ. I wonder what has happened recently in my myeloma world.
I had a bone marrow biopsy (maybe in January?) to check my MRD status. I went up to 27 myeloma cells in a million. That was from about 1 in a million. So that was a bummer to see. MRD is pretty cutting edge. Nothing showed up on my blood tests, although the following round of blood tests showed my m-band moved to âdetectable but not quantifiableâ. BLAH, it would have been nice to hit MRD zero and stay there.
My oncologist didnât want to make any changes based on MRD as most oncologist would follow. The myeloma specialist then spoke to the oncologist and then had a meeting with me to talk things over. He said that the numbers were not trending in the right direction, and what was the point of waiting until things significantly elevated. The specialist said he went through the list of drugs and wanted to add in a drug that âwasnât going to do me harmâ. He recommended adding back in Dara to punch the numbers back down.
I was on Dara prior to transplant, but Stanford stopped it because it was not working fast enough. Since it didnât seem to give me any problems, I agreed to go back on it. If he was recommending something like cytoxan, I would have said no.
Well, as it turns out, side effects can change post transplant. I had my first dose of Dara with carfilzomib and it was rough. I turned into a 90-year old, with super fatigue. My skin on my torso also went hypersensitive and wearing a shirt was unpleasant. Too bad we were still in winter âď¸. That lasted for about a week. I had another round two weeks after the first, and the same thing happened again. The oncologist was baffled. We ran some blood tests, but nothing showed up. Iâve noticed that if something is out of the ordinary and not listed on a clinical trial, the oncologist is left bumbling his bottom lip and saying, âGood luck with thatâ.
Fortunately for me, by the third dose, my body was getting used to the drug and the symptoms significantly lessened. I didnât have any of those symptoms by the fourth dose. So Iâm back to being left with the few days of being miserable from the carfilzomib side effects. Maybe the cancer gods will show me some favor and things will get good enough to eventually drop the carfilzomib and just stay on the Dara.
But then again, at this point, Iâm pretty sure the cancer gods donât like me very much đ. But then again again, they just updated all the five year cancer survival rates, and myeloma is now 59%. Iâm going to hit 5 years soon. Not that I attribute that to the cancer gods, Iâll take the credit with my efforts.
I guess the other thing physically that happened was that, I developed a frozen shoulder. Possibly from the chemo, they arenât actually sure what causes them. Itâs quite bizarre. I canât raise my right hand or arm above shoulder height or move it in an outward direction. I guess the tissue surrounding the âballâ of your arm, that goes into your socket, just seizes up. It can take 8 months to 2 years to âunfreezeâ. Fortunately, it looks like Iâm going through the stages at the faster rate. Iâm sure the infrared sauna and turmeric are helping. Too bad my muscles didnât freeze in a better spot đŞđź. Imagine having your six pack be frozen and being ripped for 2 years.
Letâs see, I guess I have some blood numbers to share, here you go.
My medical provider made it a pain for me to transfer over my data, so thatâs why I donât post much about it (plus, I donât have blood run much these days). Because of my weird side effects from the Dara, they did run a whole metabolic panel. My red blood cell numbers are still low. From the metabolic panel, they ran iron.
As you can see, my iron is quite well, from all those goji berries and beets. So my poor red blood cells are just quite beat up from the chemo. I thought that was interesting to see.
Well, I can tell your attention span is beginning to wane by this part of the post so Iâll be quick with the rest.
I made it to a succulent nursery, âSucculent Gardensâ, down by Monterey, that I always wanted to go to. That was pretty awesome to visit. Iâm a huge succulent fan, as you may have noticed from the pictures on my website. They supply plants to a lot of the other nurseries in California, so I was cool to visit the source. Here are some pictures.
I took a mushroom propagating class at a local collage. I sort of knew how to grow mushrooms from books and the internet, but I wanted some hands on training. So I know how to do that now. I have mushrooms growing inside the kitchen cupboards now. Hopefully at some point Iâll have a bigger space to really get into it.
Preparing mushroom growing media.
Finally, spring has sprung. Here are my irises that I planted last year. They had a year to grow and be undisturbed, so they are happy. Yukon likes to eat the grass around the pot.
My blood is back from the vampires. I havenât had any run for two months now, so that was a change for me. I wasnât having any test fears (Scanxiety) that a person can sometimes get, but I have been wondering how my numbers are looking.
I was especially wondering if my m band was a one month wonder or if I was going to sustain things, even though I cut out one of the maintenance chemos. Iâve been feeling pretty good, so my guess was that itâs still zero, and it is.
My reds (red blood cells) are still challenged. I was expecting them to get a boost since I dropped the cytoxan, but that wasnât the case. I wouldnât want things to get too easy, itâs best to be short on oxygen for a challenge đ. Although my mcv is at the top, which means my red blood cells are large, so there can be fewer of them.
They also ran a blood test to check out my heart, which I was happy about since itâs possible carfilzomib can damage the heart. I had been wondering if anyone was monitoring things because I hadnât seen any evidence of it so far. Thankfully, it tested normal.
Anyhow, here are the numbers:
KAPPA LIGHT CHAIN FREE
Normal range: 3.30 – 19.40 mg
Date
Value
Normal Range
Dec 1, 2023
3.06mg/L
3.3 – 19.4 mg/L
Oct 7, 2023
5.2mg/L
3.3 – 19.4 mg/L
Aug 25, 2023
5.32mg/L
3.3 – 19.4 mg/L
LAMBDA LIGHT CHAIN FREE, SERPL
Normal range: 5.71 – 26.30 mg/L
Date
Value
Normal Range
Dec 1, 2023
2.01mg/L
5.71 – 26.3 mg/L
Oct 7, 2023
3.03mg/L
5.71 – 26.3 mg/L
Aug 25, 2023
2.66mg/L
5.71 – 26.3 mg/L
KAPP/LAMB FR
Normal range: 0.26 – 1.65
Date
Value
Normal Range
Dec 1, 2023
1.52
0.26 – 1.65
Oct 7, 2023
1.72
0.26 – 1.65
Aug 25, 2023
2
0.26 – 1.65
WBC
Normal range: 3.7 – 11.1 K/uL
Date
Value
Normal Range
Dec 1, 2023
4.4K/uL
3.7 – 11.1 K/uL
Oct 5, 2023
4.9K/uL
3.7 – 11.1 K/uL
Sep 8, 2023
4.8K/uL
3.7 – 11.1 K/uL
RBC’S
Normal range: 4.10 – 5.70 M/uL
Date
Value
Normal Range
Dec 1, 2023
2.9M/uL
4.1 – 5.7 M/uL
Oct 5, 2023
3.15M/uL
4.1 – 5.7 M/uL
Sep 8, 2023
3.19M/uL
4.1 – 5.7 M/uL
HGB
Normal range: 13.0 – 17.0 g/dL
Date
Value
Normal Range
Dec 1, 2023
10.5g/dL
13 – 17 g/dL
Oct 5, 2023
11.3g/dL
13 – 17 g/dL
Sep 8, 2023
11.3g/dL
13 – 17 g/dL
HCT
Normal range: 39.0 – 51.0 %
Date
Value
Normal Range
Dec 1, 2023
29%
39 – 51 %
Oct 5, 2023
31.2%
39 – 51 %
Sep 8, 2023
31.9%
39 – 51 %
MCV
Normal range: 80 – 100 fL
Date
Value
Normal Range
Dec 1, 2023
100fL
80 – 100 fL
Oct 5, 2023
99fL
80 – 100 fL
Sep 8, 2023
100fL
80 – 100 fL
PLT
Normal range: 140 – 400 K/uL
Date
Value
Normal Range
Dec 1, 2023
109K/uL
140 – 400 K/uL
Oct 5, 2023
116K/uL
140 – 400 K/uL
Sep 8, 2023
150K/uL
140 – 400 K/uL
PROTEIN ELECTROPHORESIS INTERPRETATION, SERUM – No Homogeneous Band Or Spike Seen.
B type natriuretic protein Normal value: <=100 pg/mL
Value 43
>= 100 pg/ml may be associated with congestive heart failure. Other causes should be excluded. < 100 pg/ml clinically significant congestive heart failure unlikely. Clinical correlation required.
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.
âNo Homogeneous Band Or Spike Seenâ
âDoes that mean what I think it means?â I asked the doctor.
âYes, your M-band reached zero and thatâs a very good sign. With that result, it is probable that an MRD test would show zero myeloma cells in a million now.â
!!!!!!!!! (Inside of me)
For Non myelomers, basically what it means is, the cancer is no longer detectable from a blood test. It doesnât mean Iâm cancer free, there is just isnât 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 didnât 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 donât 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. Iâm not tooting my own horn, Iâm just trying to convey what it means to me. Itâs been one of my goals since the beginning.
Iâve been trying to achieve this result for over 4 years. The number 4 doesnât sound very large, but itâs been nonstop for me. Itâs 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 Iâm walking up Everest without oxygen. Pounds of turmeric. How am I painting my picture?
I suppose I wonât 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 wonât say I was just lucky, because I donât believe in randomness when it comes to health. There is a reason, I just wonât ever know the reason.
I know full well that itâs possible it could only be for one month and I could have a reading next month, but I will take my small victory. Itâs only a stepping stone for me, with still lots of work to go. I canât 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 canât 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, Iâm going with my gut (also literally, since itâs 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.
Iâm off to go eat some vegetablesâŚ..
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
Here is my latest set. Not a whole lot changed. My light chains are now both low. I guess the drugs are really hammering them. M-band is too low to quantify. Some of the CBCâs are up and the others a down a bit.
I had another bone marrow biopsy as well. Results showed the myeloma is under 1%. Previous test showed 20%, so that was a huge drop in 3 months. They ran another fish genetics test as well for some reason. That came back normal, I do have the 1q gain and the 14:16 myeloma genetics, that show up when there is enough myeloma.
Name Standard range
12/9/22
1/6/23
2/3/23
KAPP/LAMB FR 0.26 – 1.65
0.29
0.39
0.73
KAPPA LIGHT CHAIN FREE 3.30 – 19.40 mg/L
3.55
2.25
2.14
LAMBDA LIGHT CHAIN FREE, SERPL 5.71 – 26.30 mg/L
12.07
5.82
2.92
Component
Your value
Standard range
Creatinine
0.72 mg/dL
<=1.34 mg/dL
Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate
>60 mL/min/1.73 m2
=60 mL/min/1.73 m2
Component
Your value
Standard range
Bilirubin, total
1.0 mg/dL
0.2 – 1.2 mg/dL
Component
Your value
Standard range
ALT
16 U/L
0 to 47 U/L0 – 47 U/L
Name Standard range
12/9/22
1/6/23
2/3/23
HCT 39.0 – 51.0 %
35.8
34.9
35.1
HGB 13.0 – 17.0 g/dL
13.2
12.4
12.4
MCV 80 – 100 fL
89
94
97
NRBC <=0 /100WC
0
0
0
PLT 140 – 400 K/uL
177
177
184
RBC’S 4.10 – 5.70 M/uL
4.02
3.72
3.63
RDW, RBC 12.0 – 16.5 %
14.9
15.2
13.8
WBC 3.7 – 11.1 K/uL
4.4
4.7
5.5
Name Standard range
12/9/22
1/6/23
2/3/23
BASOS % AUTO %
0
0
0
BASOS ABS AUTO 0.0 – 0.1 K/uL
0.0
0.0
0.0
EOS % AUTO %
1
2
4
EOS ABS AUTO 0.0 – 0.4 K/uL
0.0
0.1
0.2
IMMAT GRANS ABS AUTO 0.0 – 0.1 K/uL
0.0
0.0
0.0
IMMAT GRANULO % AUTO %
0
0
0
LYMPHS % AUTO %
25
28
28
LYMPHS ABS AUTO 0.9 – 3.2 K/uL
1.1
1.3
1.5
MONOS % AUTO %
14
12
12
MONOS ABS AUTO 0.3 – 0.9 K/uL
0.6
0.6
0.6
NEUTROPHILS % AUTO %
61
58
56
NEUTROPHILS ABS AUTO 1.8 – 7.9 K/uL
2.7
2.8
3.1
Name Standard range
12/9/22
1/6/23
2/3/23
2/3/23
ALB 3.8 – 5.0 g/dL
4.3
4.2
4.5
ALPHA 1 GLOB EP 0.2 – 0.4 g/dL
0.3
0.3
0.3
ALPHA 2 GLOB EP 0.5 – 1.0 g/dL
0.4
0.4
0.5
BETA GLOB EP 0.6 – 1.2 g/dL
0.6
0.6
0.6
GAMMA GLOB EP 0.7 – 1.8 g/dL
0.6
0.4
0.4
TP 6.0 – 7.7 g/dL
6.2
6.2
Name Standard range
12/9/22
1/6/23
2/3/23
M-BAND-1 <=0.0 g/dL
0.4
SEE ABN
SEE ABN
SPEP INTERPRETATION
SEE ABN
SEE ABN
SEE ABN
RESULT Normal FISH Result
1q (CKS1B) Gain: not detected t(4;14) (IGH-FGFR3) Fusion: not detected 9p (JAK2) Gain: not detected 11q (CCND1) Gain: not detected t(11;14) (IGH-CCND1) Fusion: not detected t(14;16) (IGH-MAF) Fusion: not detected t(14;20) (IGH-MAFB) Fusion: not detected 17p (TP53) Deletion: not detected
Here is my last set of labs. I back dated the labs a bit just to show the trend. Looks like Dara/Pom/Dex is having a good effect for me. 8/18 test is after one cycle. 7/15 is my baseline.
I was thinking things were working a few weeks earlier, because my monocytes were way above normal range on the weekly blood tests. Monocytes are basically your body’s garbage trucks. So I have a large amount of dead cells needing to be processed, I was just hoping they were dead myeloma cells and not too many healthy cells. I still have a ways to go. I wonder how long it will take to get the light chains/M band punched back down?
Carrots Over Cancer 