One of the drawbacks of multiple myeloma are bone lesions. What that means to non-medical folk (like us) is that the plasma cells are reproducing too quickly in the bone marrow causing lesions (or holes for non-medical people) to form. More correctly they are called lytic lesions.
When you find one lesion on the skeletal system, the cancer is called plasmacytoma. When you find multiple lesions in the bones - it is called multiple myeloma. When Buffy went to the doctor to discuss the bone scan, she asked how many lesions Dad had. The doctor said too many to count! WHAT???? Basically his bones are in bad shape and he is in risk of breaking them quite easily.
The holes in his bones are different from osteoporosis. Instead of a weakening of the whole bone, or losing density - his just has random holes throughout his body - femur, skull, back, arms, pelvic bone, etc. Okay so I understand why the doctor didn't bother to count. Buffy said that when the doctor showed her the scan it looked like someone had taken a hole punch to his skeleton.
Treatment options are going to work on a few things:
1) Use medication to build up his bone strength.
2) Use radiation to shrink the 2 largest tumors - chest and pelvic bone.
3) Use medication to keep new tumors from forming and manage the ones he already has.
4) Try to control the overgrowth of plasma cells in his bone marrow.
If he does not respond as well as hoped to the treatment options above, he will opt to have a bone marrow transplant.
All in all, we still feel grateful. The doctor said that if you were going to have a stage 4 cancer - this was a great cancer to have. It responds well to treatment and the treatment is usually not chemotherapy. Lucky Dad?
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2 comments:
I loved seeing Uncle Phil this weekend. Just holding his hand was comforting to me. He is a pillar of strength and an example to me as someone who puts family first and his pain/needs last. He spoke at the Whiting Reunion and I will always treasure his words of wisdom about the importance of family.
I love you Uncle Phil and thank you for making the trip!Thank you to Buffy, Jacque and Joe too!
Angela
It was wonderful to see Uncle Phil at the reunion. Knowing about his bone lesions just makes me appreciate his efforts and of his children who came with him to support him even more. Thank you for a wonderful memory. We love you!
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