Tuesday, March 29, 2011

What would you do ?

Now we get to the audience participation part of the blog..

1.  Think about the following question and give me your answer and why in the comments.
2.  Forward a link to this blog to people you know.  I'd like to get as much input from as many different people as possible on this.

Okay here's the deal.  This is the choice I face.  I just wonder what you guys, people who's opinion I respect, would do in my situation.  What exactly is my situation you ask ?

I have Multiple Myeloma, which recently claimed Gerraldine Ferraro, there is no cure, only life prolonging treatment.

I just finished a year of chemo, Velcade and Cytoxan, and at this point the doctors tell me they've "knocked it down".  I'm not "in remission" as there is now such thing with multiple myeloma.  So I will NOT need a bone marrow/stem cell transplant now.  I will eventually.  The disease will come back and I'll have to go on full blown chemo, until that doesn't work.  Then it's a Autologous HSCT.

The choice that I (and in this poll, you) face is this.

No Chemo: Your Quality of Life will improve as chemo won't be kicking your ass every other month, you'll still be tired and weak from the disease.  You'll get monthly blood tests and the disease will (generally) return quicker than if you had gone on maintenance chemo, and you will most likely have to go on full blown chemo sooner. 

Maintenance Chemo:  That's four weeks on, four weeks off.  Quality of Life won't be a nice as No Chemo as every other month it will be back to the suck.  The upside is that you'll generally keep the disease "down" longer.  Meaning it will be "later" before you have to go on full blown chemo again.

That's it.  Either way you'll end up on full blown chemo, until that doesn't work, then it's a stem cell transplant.

It's the choice I have to make.   undecided   I have to make my decision 11 April.  I'll let you know what I've decided then.  In the meantime,  I'd like to hear what you would do and why.

3 comments:

  1. Ugh. I don't even know what to say. I realize the time has passed for you to make the decision. But having just watched my friend's mom pass away from cancer -- her mom declined treatment -- I would say as someone on the outside, I would suggest you do the treatment. However, if I were you and facing being so sick while you're on treatment, I might opt to not do it. How's that for giving you no answer at all!? :-/

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  2. Thanks. Yes, I did make the decision, and I posted it on APS http://www.armedpolitesociety.com/index.php?topic=29008.0 I went with Maintenance for now. I can always change it.

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  3. What did you chose? I love that you ask for our opinion, but in the end, it is your life...your suffering/relief, your pain/ease. I have worked with cancer patients for years, have friends who have battled cancer...some have won, others have not, so I have often asked myself what I would do in this situation and I have never come up with an answer as I don't believe I know what I would chose until faced with the life or death choice. Your strength, humor, honesty and straight forward determination to battle has, and continues, to amaze and inspire me. Blessings to you.

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