DH

Three more days to go until the big chemo day. With some help I finally have gotten my apartment organized so that I have a comfortable place to come home to after my big chemo days. Now I just need to go get some vitamin E capsules. I read that they help prevent mouth sores. The chemo kills any fast growing cells. This not only kills cancer cell; but also causes problems with the lining of the mouth, hair, and probably a few other things that I don’t know about. I’ve read that mouth sores can be so bad that it is impossible to eat. But, I’ve heard that vitamin E can prevent them. I’ll let you know if that theory holds out.

I’ve posted a few links on the right hand side of the page that explain a bit about what Multiple Myeloma is, and about the transplant process (its kind of technical, but parts of it are still understandable by a normal person).

The mini-allo transplant is one of the best ways to get a long-term remission. But, there is no cure for Multiple Myeloma. So, when they say “success” they actually mean a remission. Sometimes people have been known to get a three year remission with a transplant. That would be great. I would love to have three years of “normal” life again. To me that would mean being able to work a regular job and a 40 hour week. And being able to ride my bicycle around Lake Union four times (20 miles) with no problem. And going skiing or ice skating, or even sailing around Lake Union. There is a 50-60% chance of “success” with a transplant. Not the best odds but, I’ll take what I can get.