After nine weeks on the Darzalex, my M-protein level continues to plummet:
This isn’t quite a new record low (that would be 0.3 on May 6, 2016), but it’s pretty close. I expect that next month’s reading will be the lowest I’ve registered since I was first diagnosed with multiple myeloma. So that’s good news.
Now, you may recall that there’s some not-so-good news that goes along with this: the Darzalex kills off all the antibodies in its path, not just the cancerous ones. In my case, it’s the IgG antibodies that are cancerous, but the Darzalex also blew through my IgA antibodies, reducing them from 200 to 19. That’s a big reduction. This week they’re down to 12.
No one has called me with panic in their voice and instructions to curl up in an isolation booth, so I suppose it can’t be all that bad. On the other hand, I wonder if low antibody counts are related to tiredness? Damn, but I sleep a lot these days. I’m averaging 10-12 hours a day lately: about 8 hours at night and then 3 or 4 hours during the day. That’s a lot of sleep.
We have a new comment system! We are now using Coral, from Vox Media, for comments on all new articles. We'd love your feedback.