Yay!
My tumor burden, as measured by the amount of cancer debris circulating in the blood, dropped from 79 to 33, or better than 58%, in one cycle of the brutal chemotherapy (DVD-R) I've been enduring. The wonderful thing about this drop is that it is definitive. Had the number been about the same, slightly higher or slightly lower, I could only say that the chemo was stabilizing me. But stability, as good as it is, isn't enough to get me to the second transplant.
But a drop of this size changes the probabilities. It is now likely that I'll respond well on the next cycle (which starts tomorrow). It has become at least possible that I will meet the goal of 10% or fewer plasma cells in the marrow and have that second transplant, maybe in five weeks.
I could have said neither of these two things were likely yesterday :)
Words fail me. My heart is soaring, and I must pause 'til it comes back to me.
This is great news indeed!!
ReplyDeleteLon - So glad to hear of your remarkable response! Hope your next round is as successful.
ReplyDeleteLon,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your good results. I didn't think I would be saying this, but I'm also seeing a significant drop in my numbers. My specialist will likely be surprised as he told me to go home and "put my affairs in order". For some reason he didn't think this treatment (rev/vel/dex) would work. It has been the only thing that has given me a promising result.
Good luck to you and I hope you continue to see good results.
Janet