William Shakespeare said that the eyes are the window to your soul. In the world of Multiple Myeloma treatment, the bodily fluids are the window to my physiology (admittedly, that doesn’t sound very lyrical - but hey, no shakes person will I am). Even less linguistically lovely or poetically prosaic, it is my blood and urine that tells their tales - not a gaze into my eyes.
My "blood" technically isn't an organ, but it is the primary area of my a-nat-omy that is affected by my cancer (bone marrow to be specific). Each trip to the clinic (for infusion or even just a visit with Dr. S.) includes the requisite lab work (aka: blood work) which involves filling multiple small vials for multiple examinations of my progress (or regression) as indicated by the readings for things such as hemoglobin level, white blood cell count, platelets, lymphocytes and the telltale kappa free light chains (and their companion Kappa/Lambda Free Ratio). The breakthrough accomplishment of sequencing the human DNA has allowed science to look at my labs with a level of detail and precision that gives my Onc team a view into my condition which aides in their analysis and targets their treatments. And it all happens within about 30 minutes on any given Saturday visit to CINJ - pretty impressive, right?
The other organs of my a-nat-omy that are adversely affected by the scourge of Multiple Myeloma are my kidneys. Kidney failure is a common complication of multiple myeloma (MM). When initially diagnosed, about 20% to 40% of patients with MM will have some amount of kidney failure. I too, fell into this category and as a result, Dr. S. has always kept a careful watch on my kidneys and all aspects of my disease/treatment that relate to those critical organs. And as I suspect you might be able to guess, the best way to keep track of the kidneys is through a good old fashion urine sample. It seems so simple and yet it is so revealing. Fortunately, here too the Onc team has done a great job reading my "pee leaves" and have helped keep me off dialysis and flowing freely. Let me seize upon this moment to remind us all that hydration is one of the easiest and most important things that we can do for ourselves (for our health) on a daily basis. Drink, drink, drink - please my dear friends.
I've tried to be honest with you all and perhaps this was a bit too much information (TMI). But if you ask me how I'm doing, the answer will have likely come from the aforementioned two sources. For me (and most cancer patients - blood borne or solid tumor), it's all about the numbers, and these offerings are the openings to my oncological "soul."
