Day +21- And 1 week home today!

I hope you all are getting into the Holiday Spirit!  It seems like it is even coming quicker this year.  I don't know if it is because at our house we are getting a little late start on it or what?  Our kids are still finalizing their Santa Lists.  We told them their deadline was this weekend.  But our house is all decked out in beautiful lights for Santa!  We also just received in the mail our Christmas Cards for this year.  They are so beautiful and I cannot wait to mail them out!  An incredible woman from California named Nancy who used to work for Mike's company offered to make them for us.  I should mention, that Mike has never even met this woman.  I am in amazement everyday of the generosity and kindness of so many who have helped our family in so many ways this past year.  Our family also continues to receive home cooked  meals during the week by wonderful people in our community even during the most busiest time of the year.  I also receive daily beautiful cards of encouragement and prayers by so many.  Even people whom I have never met are sending me messages on a daily basis.  I am so touched by the beautiful human spirit of so many and it gives me so much strength and happiness. 

Today marks day 21 since my transplant and 1 week home today! I owe so many of you phone calls, so I thought I would give you all an update.   We went down to Dana Farber today for some blood tests and a followup with Dr. Munshi.  In his words, "I'm a rockstar!"  Yup, my numbers are doing what they should.  They are continuing to grow!  No, this doesn't mean I got the thumbs up to ditch the gloves and mask and go out to dinner.  However, I did get the ok to floss my teeth.  Oh it's the little things these days! 

We also discussed where we go from here.  My next appointment in Boston is not until the 23rd.  I will however go for a followup and blood tests next Thursday with my local Oncologist Dr. Hakimian.  Then probably at the end of January I will most likely start a 5th cycle of Dexamethasone, Revlimid and  Velcade.  Yup, you read that right.  That was the chemo cocktail I had all summer long.    Even though I did have the potent chemo Melphalan in the hospital, there are still Myeloma cells in my body.  Recent research supports doing a 5th and 6th cycle of this Dex, Rev. and Velcade for patients following a stem cell transplant and then continuing with a Revlimid maintenance.  This will hopefully keep my myeloma quiet for at least 3 years.  We were a surprised to hear that I would need to do this treatment again.  But as Dr. Munshi explained to us, the Myeloma world is changing at a rapid speed.  He just attended a conference last week where these studies are being discussed and recommended.  I am so fortunate to be a patient of these brilliant doctors in the cancer institute driving these clinical trials.


Well that is all for now.  Mike, my mom and the kids should be coming home any minute from the Holiday Concert that Cam was in tonight. It makes me sad to be missing all these special times but hopefully this will be the only concert I miss for a very long time. I think I'll  have some of that pumpkin ice cream in the freezer, my doctor wrote me a prescription to eat more!

Love-
Jeanie
xo