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Health update

Published on 30 Comments on Health update

I got new test results back today and my M-protein level continues to drop—which means my cancer load is also dropping:

I don't know what this means. I stuck the trendline in just for the hell of it, but I doubt that it means much of anything at this point. That said, lower is always better and there's at least a small chance that the CAR-T worked but it's just taking me longer than usual to get to zero. Cross your fingers.

Here's the long-term chart, which I haven't put up for a while. Regardless of whether the CAR-T fully worked, I'm now at my lowest M-protein level since the cancer was first diagnosed nine years ago.

30 thoughts on “Health update”

  2. jte21

    Wow! Congrats! I know a few months ago you were concerned that the treatment hadn't worked at all, so this is awesome news.

  5. susaninco

    Kevin, I have been a lurker since your calpundit days.
    Each time I visit your blog, I arrive with hope that your health is improving.
    Today's news is wonderful! I am so happy for you and your family.
    Fingers crossed that the CAR-T fully works!

  6. rick_jones

    I stuck the trendline in just for the hell of it, but I doubt that it means much of anything at this point.

    Particularly since you chose to employ a linear trend line using just the last two points of a line that otherwise looks to be a negative exponential (term?).

    That kvetching aside, may it continue to decline.

  10. DarkBrandon

    Looks as if you are not going anywhere.

    There's something peculiar about scan and test anxiety with cancer. I am currently undergoing treatment for rectal cancer (I will likely survive). The first weeks of waiting for scan appointments and results were a peculiar torture: Not bad at any one moment, but collectively exhausting.

    Oncology is full of uncertainties, educated guesses and attempts to see order where there may be less of it than we would hope.

    I am amazed how we adapt, after a fashion, to years of waiting for results and tests, knowing that they might well just hint at the reality of a situation without spelling it out for us.

    1. CaliforniaDreaming

      Not just cancer. I have a weird lung issue. Maybe it’s cancer, or leukemia, but I think they would have figured that out although I didn’t like the recent bloodwork in that respect. Regardless, there’s something in there and I’m getting a lung biopsy on Monday.

      With health care, we sit around, wait, then in my case, 3 months after an ER visit everything starts happening at once. I’ve had so much blood work that it was hard to keep track of everything, even my GP looked at it like WTF?

      So, every time I desaturate a bit, every time it’s a little bit hard to breath, it’s a minor bit of panic, and I’m under orders to ER if certain things happen.

      It’s a form of torture.

      The worst part is the schedulers, they’ll just straight up say to you, nope, no appointments open for 4 months. In one case, I found a different doctor and they were like “well, you are still alive after 2 months, so you’ll probably make it, but this could have killed you”. So, people with no medical expertise, aren’t scheduling us with any priority other than 1st come, 1st served.

      Every time some politician tries to gut health care I think, my god, it’s already terrible and you are actively trying to make it worse? I have excellent medical insurance, and the second largest provide in my county is now out-of-network to me, meaning, an ambulance, just because I’m closer, could take me to the wrong hospital and cost me a lot more than a 2 mile longer trip in the opposite direction.

      It’s a madhouse.

  15. sonofthereturnofaptidude

    Given all the posts you've been writing lately, this info confirms my conclusion that your health has improved. Good news all around for a longtime fan.

  16. pmdello

    👍 I received Abecma in December of 2022. I’ve also had a good response, though my M-spike is not as impressive as yours. My Light Chains, however, are within the standard range after being out of whack for over a decade. Drug free and feeling good.

  20. Heysus

    Hang in there Kevin and keep positive thoughts.
    I would venture to say that you may be in remission. We’re pulling for you!

  21. JustUsMonkies

    Not surprised to see your results, but glad.

    CAR-T is relatively new medical technology, and Myeloma CAR-T (anti-BCMA) even more so.

    I know patients involved with OG AML studies, they're 10 years in with CAR-T cells still living and fighting cancer.

    The chances that you're a full responder are very, very good....

    1. Anandakos

      This. Weird Kevin [kudoes to Greta Gerwig] pisses us all of from time to time, but he continues to provide sensible analyses of well-documented trends, sometimes about things that none of us has wondered about, but it's still interesting.

  24. zaphod

    Certainly much better than going up or leveling off. What continues to go down slowly may not be in a hurry to go back up. Or maybe even will not go back up at all.

    Myeloma is a family of conditions with multiple causes. So how one responds to a given treatment is highly variable. Here's hoping that your M-protein response continues to amaze.

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