New challenges and a new doctor

I have not been posting as frequently as usual because I have been faced with very difficult challenges. As I have previously reported, the numbers shown in blood tests that indicate the presence and vigor of my lymphoma have been increasing steadily. My IgM number is now 2093; the normal range is 45-281. Of greater significance is that the number just keeps climbing; one year ago, it was 1359 and two years ago, it was 700.

I have also suffered rather alarming symptoms related to the anemia that accompanies lymphoma. At the start of this year, I weighed 178; on October 15, I weighed 163. I have been tired and feeling weak.

At my regular three-month visit with the doctor, he shrugged off the symptoms and said that he didn’t recommend treatment at this time. I had, for some time been losing confidence in this doctor. When he announced that his practice had recently hired a specialist in lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, I jumped at the opportunity to switch my care to a new doctor.

I visited the new doctor a few days ago. He recommends treatment and offered three possible therapies; each with its own set of side effects and costs. The treatment he recommends the highest is an oral medication that has a retail cost of...fasten your seatbelts, gentle readers...$14,000 per month.

Of course, the subject of insurance, in my case, Medicare Part D, comes into question here. As luck would have it, we have just completed a study of our Part D insurance and decided to change to a different carrier. You can imagine my anxiety when I telephoned the new carrier, as of January 1, to ask what my out-of-pocket would be for said prescription. It is not a happy number.

I am still evaluating my options. I promise to post more as I know more.