Cardiac Reserve

Thursday, March 6, 2014    Pomalyst Study Cycle 78: My Doctor L and the crew of three CNP's were all unavailable for this visit to Mayo, so I saw Dr MG instead. In terms of the Mayo Clinic hierarchy, that's an upgrade. We had met before, but he had not seen me as a patient. We quickly agreed that the myeloms was still stable, and he in fact commented that the Pomalyst trial has been a home run for me. Indeed! Six years now, and still counting - I am so fortunate. IgG was up just slightly, but Lambda light chains are down a little, and maybe both changes are within measurement error anyway. No change. I am starting Cycle 79, continuing to hope and pray. We discussed last month's influenza A and accompanying pneumonia at some length. He gave me a rather thorough chest exam, listening carefully to breath and heart sounds, and pronounced the breathing clear and the heartbeats strong and steady. Three different doctors have treated or examined me now regarding that pneumonia, and all three have volunteered, without my asking, that my fitness may have played a role in my recovery. Today Dr. MG used the term "cardiopulmonary reserve," (I think that was the term), and remarked that a person without that reserve might might have recovered more slowly, if at all. Of course there is no proof that fitness played a part, only opinions. Nevertheless I'm a true believer, and I think that my immune system may be stronger because of that fitness. To achieve that, we: ...
Source: Myeloma Hope - Category: Cancer Source Type: blogs