I don’t know if anyone noticed, but the blood cancer Myeloma (also known as Multiple Myeloma), has been reported on in the news in the past couple of weeks.
Firstly, it was reported that the drummer from the group Madness was suffering from a blood cancer, which turned out to be Myeloma. Also, in America, the lead singer from Supertramp died from Myeloma (after having it for 10 years). And finally, (trumpet fanfare here), Paul Burrell has confirmed in one of his books about the Queen that she was diagnosed with Myeloma about a year before she died. However, it is not mentioned on her death certificate, it just says died of old age.
So, I am aware of at least 6 people who have Myeloma in a fairly small radius around me, and if you add on the other ones that have been in the news, then it is clear that, whilst Myeloma is classed as a relatively rare cancer, it is clearly more common than is realised. The problem being that many people don’t recognise the symptoms, or they get put down to something else like a pulled muscle, and too often a diagnosis is only made when a bone is broken, by which time it is really too late to do anything about it!. This is exactly what happened to one of Peter’s relations, although she also had other health conditions, and died soon afterwards.
So, I am banging the drum again about Myeloma, in the hope that more people will be aware what it is, and what the symptoms are likely to be. They are mainly fatigue, recurrent infections, aches in the ribs, back or hips, being anaemic, (in my case, it was a series of infections).
So if you have symptoms such as these, which don’t go away, don’t be fobbed off by your doctor that you’ve pulled a muscle etc etc. A simple blood test can tell whether or not you have a problem with Myeloma, and if you do, the sooner you are diagnosed the better, as treatment is very good for this condition.
Ok, that’s enough of me banging the Myeloma drum!
As for me, I had been having chemo treatment two days a week for 3 weeks, then a week off. This has now been reduced to two days a week every other week, which is great as that frees up 2 days a month for me not having to go to Shrewsbury hospital!
Also, the nurses have decided that they don’t need to do a saline flush before every treatment, as there is no actual need for this. Instead, I get a short glucose flush by IV cannula first, then the chemo, which takes 10 minutes, followed by another short flush with a glucose solution. This does save quite a bit of time, so the nurses can cope better with the sheer number of people attending the Haemotology unit, and there is no down side to it either. There is a lot of cross checking with the expiry dates on the various solutions, and I always have to repeat my name, DOB and address so they nurses know I am the right person, so there cannot be any mistakes made, which is very reassuring.
My condition is currently stable, which is great, and I am no longer being put forward for a stem cell transplant, as nowadays better treatments are replacing the stem cell transplant route. This is good news for me, as having a stem cell transplant is quite gruelling and takes 6 to 12 months to fully recover from! As it is, I currently go to the gym 2 or 3 times a week, I don’t have any problems with lack of energy, or indeed any problems at all, which I am very happy with. The nurses at the O’connor Haemotology unit at Shrewsbury Hospital are great and make the whole experience of having treatment relatively pleasant.
Let me repeat that if you, or anyone you know, has a persistent ache in the back, hips or ribs, this should be setting off alarm bells, and a visit to the doctor is recommended as soon as possible. Again, don’t be fobbed off with a pulled muscle or some other suggestion, but keep banging on until you are taken seriously. It could save your life, or at least extend it in a more comfortable way.
Here endeth the lesson for today…….. 😙
Onward! Thanks for the update xx