Consultant

Biopsy over and all went as expected. I felt pretty sick during the procedure, but managed to keep it all in though.....however, my nurses’ hand did get rather crushed during the process!! The biopsy seemed to go much quicker than last time, only taking about 10 minutes to complete. That said, when I tried to explain what it felt like to Len, all I could think of was the good old days of traditional dentistry, when local anaesthetic for deep fillings was a forgotten art form and the dentist seemed to take great pleasure in ramming the drill straight into a nerve. Not wanting to get too graphic, as the syringe punches through the bone into the marrow, you do experience that raw nerve sensation right down your leg. Still, as I said before, it's was all over very quickly....unlike giving birth (felt obliged to say that!!).

More importantly our meeting with the consultant on Monday left both Len and me feeling more upbeat and informed about my reaction to the chemotherapy and the next phase of treatment. He remains very positive about my response to the Velcade (both in my paraprotein levels and the shrinkage in the tumour on my sternum), hence the biopsy, to confirm the actual impact on the myeloma cells in my bone marrow. He re-emphasised that anything over a 50% reduction in paraprotein is considered a good response to the drug, and I'm fortunately in that position. He again confirmed that the plateauing was fully expected and the period of stabilisation that I'm now going through is positive, in that it indicates my body is still receptive to the drug. The plan remains to have an eighth cycle of chemo, though it may well be spread over 4 weeks to take me through to pre-Christmas. The current plan to complete the transplant early next year remains on track, and I'm booked in to see the specialist who heads up the transplant team at Hammersmith Hospital on 6th November. From what I understand, they'll be completing a number of ‘work up’ tests in December to ensure I'm in the right physical condition (read 'man' enough) to go through the high dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant process.

Finally, last week was not a good week for us, and I just want to say once again how humbled and encouraged we've been by all the texts, chats, e-mails and blog comments that we have received. We can't explain how much it all means, knowing that we have your thoughts, prayers, support and most importantly, friendship. Thank you so much.