Gary Brucato

1954 / Class of 2006 / Type: IgG Kappa / PBSCT, Remission / Updated: 10/07

I was treated at St. Vincent's cancer center in NYC. I was diagnosed on Feb 2006 and was put on Thalidomide and Dex for a while and got very sick. Then I was put on Revlimid and Dex and my numbers whet down a little. Then they gave me Doxil and Velcade my numbers dropped like a fly and they prepped me for an SCT. On May 31st, 100 days after the transplant, they told me that I fell into the 20% of people that go into a total remission. I have no M spike, normal IgG, my marrow test is 2%, and my free-lites are normal. That's some story because during my treatments I almost passed on and during the transplant I almost passed on and suddenly it was like I never had Myeloma! Anyway, I would like to tell my story in detail if you would let me.

October 26th, 2007: It's four days from my 53rd birthday! I thought i wouldn't make it to that age with an aggressive cancer. Also I just want to thank all you people out there for e-mailing me. I hope i helped in some way. My situation remains the same: I'm still in remission. I just went Tuesday to the clinic, my IgG number is 843, and finally my hemoglobin went back to normal. It's 14.5 now, I'm not anemic. I'll be honest about the transplant, it's along the road to recovery. Don't get me wrong, I'm working full time again, servicing and installing heating and air conditioning equipment. It's a hard job, but I do it. Sometimes things go a little (?), of course that's normal. I have dry eyes and I use eye drops. My FreeLite test ratio is normal, which means no Myeloma cells are present. The kappa and lambda light chain numbers are low, which would indicate a suppressed bone marrow function.

The doctor told me that that it's normal having low numbers at this time because I'm still recovering and it's not what it seems. When I saw that report, I went home that night and just wanted to be alone, thinking that after what I've been through so far, now I need this to happen. Then I said to myself, it can't be, with the test results indicating a compromised bone marrow. It's got to be part of the recovery.

So what I'm saying, brothers and sisters, is that a little hope goes a long way. It's a bumpy road even for me, and the cr doesn't have to stop at me. Today there are new things coming out all the time. You people out there with Myeloma have a better chance than people a few years ago, and it's getting better and better. Listen to your doctor but read everything you can. Keep up with all new treatments and trial drugs and procedures. The most important tool I had was information, and I used it to fight this cancer. Ask questions, as silly as they may seem. You might hear something good. Keep up the fight! God bless.

Since I added my survivor story, people from all over the country are emailing me just to ask me how I got to where I am now: How do I feel being a patient in remission? What treatments did I receive? How did the stem cell transplant procedure go from a patient's point of view? Were the side-effects as bad as the doctors said?

I'm so happy to do something for someone that has cancer. Just one small bite of information can make a big difference to someone in need. When I email back I ask for a phone number so I can speak to the person and get to know them a little and share their experience with mine.

Thank you. my brothers and sisters in the fight!

Gary