I’m in year 12 of being diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. Had a stem cell transplant at Shands under the care of Dr Jan Morab, who was phenomenal. Been on two different oral regimens and the most recent, Revlimid (Lenolidimide) lasted almost 6 years. Luckily during the span since diagnosis, the number of different treatment options has advanced greatly. I would have to look the name of the drugs up as I don’t yet have them committed to memory amidst all the other medical hubbub going on, but I’m two weeks in where I go every Friday and start with a dose of Dexamethasone (steroid) followed by an injection of Velcade, an injection specifically targeting the myeloma, and another injection for potential bone issues.
This whole process will last 18 wks, tapering down to once every two weeks toward the end. Then if all goes well, I will go for injections once a month for however long.
I also changed from Shands to Mayo. As mentioned earlier, Dr. Morab was the absolute best, but he retired and moved to NC to be near his son and grandkids. The guy who i was assigned to was a non-starter from day 1. In fact, after introducing himself the first thing he wanted to know was if I’d been vaxxed (nope) and then spent time on that sales pitch. He finally told me I looked to be doing fine and didn’t really need to see me for another year instead of the biannual visits I was accustomed to. Finally, the last visit with him was left with “there’s really no need for you to come but maybe in two years!” I finally got the message and when my myeloma markers spiked and my local hematologist sent word that I needed to get word to Shands, I cued up Patty Smyth / Scandal’s ”Goodbye to You” and called Mayo. Got set up with them, evaluated, plan in place to be administered by the folks in Tallahassee. Very pleased, haven’t looked back.
