Tag: Multiple Myeloma Reseach

Sunday, July 7th Update

Hi everyone,

Thank you for the continued prayers and support!

Rob’s PET scan results are really great!! It showed a decrease in the size of the myeloma lesions, and even had the words “nearly resolved”🎉🎉🎉!!!

He is also having no more pain in his ribs!! His myeloma labs came back really good as well, in fact, they remained exactly where they were last month, and we are thrilled!!

Once the chart is updated in the portal, I’ll copy and past a pic ya’ll can have a visual of how well he is doing. It really helps to see the numbers in a graph/chart form, and shows how well his treatment is working.


We are thrilled about his progress so far! He has a bone marrow biopsy coming up in a few weeks.

Thanks again for helping Rob to Keep Pounding! We love ya’ll and appreciate your support! ❤️❤️❤️

Week 3 update

Hi everyone,

Rob has his 3rd treatment at LCI this past week.

Today is rough, as he has increased rib pain (where the myeloma has caused rib damage) and  fatigue. Please pray for relief on both of those.

His voice is still weak, but not as bad as week one.

The fatigue is  bad. This was bad before relpase, and thought to be myeloma related. However, this treatment protocol can also cause fatigue.  Whatever the cause, it is definitely hitting harder right now.

His heart rate is high again, but we are noticing it improves a few days after taking the Dexamethasone, which is a relief.  We think the increased heart rate is from the Dexamethasone verses the other two drugs, and will  get his doctor’s input. We are just thankful it’s not constant like before. 👍

If this treatment works in kicking multiple myeloma’s behind, Rob’s treatment plan will eventually space out a bit after 3 full cycles (so around early June). More on that later. 

Update on the compound to help neuropathy: it has provided some relief of the neuropathy! He has used it at night, and can tell a difference. He can use it up to 3 times a day.

For some positives, Rob has been walking like a champ on the days he is up to it! 👊👊👍👍 We did find a water backpack to use, which helps the dry throat/mouth, and he doesn’t have to worry about carrying a heavy water bottle or thermos.

I’ll put all of the things we have found helping so far in one resource  post soon.

Thank you for your continued support and love!!

For anyone else facing health challenges, Keep Pounding!!

Leap Day Update

Happy Leap Day! 🙂

Today was a long day at Levine Cancer

The first appointment consisted of more paperwork for the trial, and he turned in the  24-hour urine test.

This appointment also answered our questions on the PET scan- if Rob gets cleared for the trial (including labs/bone marrow biopsy results)- he will likely not need a second PET scan since he had one recently.

If for some reason he doesn’t meet the criteria on labs, then he will probably need a second one in the future.

Finally, they did a neurocognitive test, and checked his handwriting by having him write a sentence.

The reason for this is because the drugs can cause neurocognitive difficulties. These tests establish a baseline of what his neurocognitive status and his handwriting is now verses how the meds impacts it once he begins treatment. Thankfully, they said side effects are temporary.

Much more to come on this as we learn which arm of the trial he will be going through, and potential side effects.  Ya’ll are learning right alongside us, and we are so appreciative of that!❤️

Next up, we had some time for a picnic lunch in the car, and a brief visit in the Keep Pounding lounge. It provided a much needed quiet place to relax in very comfortable chairs.

Next was labs (22 tubes!), and then we returned to the hematology floor  for the bone marrow biopsy.  I’ll update our blog as labs and biopsy results come in.

For anyone else facing any challenges, Keep Pounding!!

Thank you so, so much for all of your support and love! ❤️

Pre-screening Process Started 

Hi everyone,

Thank ya’ll for being here!❤️

The pre-screening scheduling for the clinical trial has started, with many tests being ordered. 
The patient portal shows 34 upcoming  tests,  many of which are labs.

In addition to the 34 tests scheduled, he will have pre-screening tests in cardiology, pulmonary,  skeletal imaging, and a PET scan. Since he had the PET scan recently, we don’t know if that will be scheduled before or after the first round of the trial.

24 hour urinalysis test will be done next week, along with a bone marrow biopsy, labs, and an appointment with his hematologist oncologist. 

The fatigue has been increasingly  worse. We are wondering if his platelets are low, or if it is from the multiple myeloma coming back (one of the symptoms), or both. We look forward to labs next week to see if they can pinpoint anything that would be a cause. 

This is the hurry up and wait part, as he goes through the clinical trial pre-screening process. I will keep updating along the way, and hopefully,  I can begin writing about the next line of treatment soon. 

We appreciate your love and support through this so much! Thank you!!

For anyone else facing challenges, whatever those challenges are, we are here for you too-please don’t forget that! 🙏❤️ Keep Pounding!!❤️👊

MMRF Patient Summit 8/1/20

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) Patient Summit is coming up on August 1st. Details from the MMRF website:

MMRF Patient Summit – Virtual Web Conference
Saturday, August 1, 2020
10:00 AM–1:45 PM (ET)

Please join us for a FREE virtual web conference developed to provide multiple myeloma patients and their families and caregivers the most up-to-date information on myeloma management from doctors and other experts in the field. Unique to this virtual meeting is a one-hour town hall in which participants can submit questions to our expert panel electronically.

For more information, visit:

MMRF Patient Summit

Continue reading “MMRF Patient Summit 8/1/20” →