A regimen of darzalex, vercade and dexamethasone teamed up for a chemotherapy regimen that helped Gregory Proctor survive multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer.  After going into remission, his health improved in a big way with a stem cell transplant.

 

In the spring of 2011, Greg’s journey began with some lower back pain.  After about a month, it reached a point in which he could not get out of bed.  One morning he had to literally crawl downstairs and have his wife help into their care for a drive to Greg’s primary care physician.  Subsequent tests only indicated that he should see a specialist.

 

Greg Proctor underwent what is known as a non-contrast MRI, which identified a mass the size of an egg in his upper right hip, but the scan could not determine if the mass was benign or cancerous.  He had to wait an additional three weeks for a more definitive contrast MRI, which lit up like a Christmas tree, indicating that Greg had cancer throughout his lower extremities.  That brought on more blood work, which led to a bone marrow biopsy.  Greg said this was the most painful thing he had ever been through.  He regrets getting only a local anesthetic.  After the biopsy, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma IGA Cappa P-17.  This meant that Greg was high-risk and needed chemotherapy immediately.  At the same time, his oncologist advised Greg to get his affairs in order. 

 

As he prepped for chemo, Greg was practically immobilized.  The tumor went across his sciatic nerve, making it almost impossible to walk, tie his shoes or balance. 

 

His regimen was darzalex, vercade and dexamethasone, a five-day-a-week regimen.  The darzalex and the vercade were meant to be inhibitors that attack different parts of the protein as it pertains to fighting multiple myeloma.  The dexamethasone is a steroid, which helped Greg to eat quite a bit because doctors wanted to gain weight before his stem cell transplant. 

 

Greg Proctor achieved remission in October 2021, and his stem cell transplant commenced the following February.  Prior to the stem cell transplant, he was injected with a high dose of melphalan.  It killed off his immune system, but properly prepared him for the stem cell transplant.

 

Greg was injected with four million stem cells, which flowed through his bloodstream trying to get back into bone marrow.  That temporarily left his body in a state of uncertainty.  He experienced fever and diarrhea and upset stomach and nausea over the next ten days in the hospital.  That left him with engraftment syndrome, which played havoc with the stem cells and his bone marrow.  All told, Greg was in the hospital 21 difficult days before he was discharged.

 

He went home, but was low on energy.  He had many days of going from the bed to the couch and the couch to the bed.  In May, he felt like his body was starting to return to normal. 

 

Years later, Greg still goes through chemotherapy twice a month, but if he was 100 percent before his diagnosis, he now feels at close to 90 percent.  Mentally, physically, psychologically, he is not quite where he used to be and admits he never will be, but Greg Proctor is very glad to be alive.

 

 

 

Additional Resources:

 

Gregory’s podcast: www.k2tcpodcast.com

 

Support Group:

 

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society: www.lls.org