Hi Eltry,
Whilst I would hesitate to describe your refusal to have treatment as ‘foolhardy’, I didn’t seriously consider that choice for a moment.
You mention that you have bone lesions. They are being caused by myeloma cells eroding the calcium in your bones. This would be continuing at this moment, and at some point the erosion will reach the point when bone pain will start.
The calcium in the blood is a lot for your kidneys to deal with: at some point your kidneys may fail. Treatment can prevent or reverse this.
Meanwhile the myeloma cells are reproducing. As the myeloma progresses from Stage 1 to 2 to 3 (there is no stage 4), your prognosis gets worse.
As for chemo side effects, they are generally an issue, yes, but some patients are affected more than others.
Personally, I want to be around for my family for as long as I can. As for side effects, they have not always been easy, but my chemo was recently tweaked to deal with fatigue and brain fog that had been problematic lately. There are lots of treatments out there: if the side effects of one are severe, you can be switched to another treatment.
I am physically fit too, and routinely walk long distances, cycle intensely in the gym and lift weights.
Regards
Rabbit