Doctor Update

Dad started taking steroids as the first step in his treatment for Multiple Myeloma. In the past 4 days it has reduced the tumor on his chest substantially. The area that is visible to the eye has been reduced by almost 80%!!!! Still visible but much smaller.

The most important thing about the reduction in size is that Dad's pain level has been reduced. He still has pain but not as intense.

The second thing that is the most important about Dad's tumor being reduced is that he can now attend the Whiting reunion. :) He is very excited.

Although we love the new medicine that has produced such fast results, there are some drawbacks. His blood sugar is now unpredictable and his diabetes cannot be managed with pills. He has started taking insulin last Friday.

Bone marrow biopsy was on Monday and tomorrow he will meet with the doctor. He will start taking steroids again in a week.

I am not sure what type of steroids Dad is currently taking. He couldn't recall and said he has had a hard time remembering things because of this medicine. He said that family and friends have called and he couldn't remember what type of cancer he had and what type of medicine he was on. While I was on the phone with him, he wrote it down to make sure he can tell them.

We are happy to see Dad's pain level reduced. We hope Dad will continue to respond well to treatment. We thank everyone for their prayers on Dad's behalf. We know they helped. Although we would prefer to not be in this situation, we are grateful that we have recently received positive news. By positive news - we mean as good as it can be with stage 4 cancer.

Here is a picture of Dad that I stole from Misha's blog. Not a great picture of Dad but he is wearing his new favorite accessory. Dad got a pin when he initially met his oncologist. You can't see it well but his small pin says "Cancer Sucks." Genius.