So, what brings me here?

Well, you know what they say, ‘Life is what hits you when you’re busy making other plans’. There I was wondering whether an honest builder still existed in the UK when, wham!!....’your MRI scan (for what I thought was a ligament problem) has revealed a lump on your sternum, and need you to come in for further tests’.


That was on 2^nd May 2012. One CT scan, PET scan, skeletal x-ray, multiple blood tests, and two biopsies later (of which the bone marrow biopsy comes highly recommended), I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma on 26^th May 2012. The words ‘Plasmacytoma’ and ‘Myeloma’ have become familiar to me over the last few weeks. If you’d have asked me what they were in April, I wouldn’t have known. For me, the process of building up knowledge on this diagnosis has been a gradual and scary journey, but with my wife acting as a filter, that knowledge is starting to build. I have started to take on board some of the hard facts about this disease and its treatment. I knew they would be difficult to take, but I’m getting there.  

My treatment starts on Monday 11^th June, with the first cycle of induction treatment, a form of chemotherapy. Each ‘cycle’ consists of two injections of the drug ‘Velcade’ week 1 and week 2, with week 3 off. The current plan is to have 6 – 8 cycles of induction treatment at Kingston Hospital, with the aim of reducing the concentration of myeloma cells in my bone marrow. This will be followed by the next phase of treatment, high dose therapy and a stem cell transplant at Hammersmith Imperial Hospital. As I understand more about this treatment, I’ll let you know.

So, what brings me here? Well, I hope this blog will form an honest record of my journey through this treatment, and the inevitable highs and lows that it will bring…. that and the fact that I haven’t got enough inclusive minutes on my phone package to call everyone. I’m in a good place at the moment due to the total love and support that has already been shown by both family and friends. I’m realistic. It’s going to be a tough, tough journey over the next year, but I’ll get there with you all by my side……..now I’m starting to cry, so I’m off to ‘get a grip’. Speak soon.