Hello everyone.
This is my first post on the forum. I joined because I am British, currently living in France but moving back to the UK in eight weeks’ time, in February next year.
My husband was diagnosed with MM in August 2020. It was discovered totally by chance. He was being prepared for an operation for an unrelated condition (a liposarcoma in the abdomen which had attached itself to his right kidney. Both the liposarcoma and the kidney were removed in June 2020 and regular scans have shown a good outcome and no further problems). It was when the surgeon who carried out the operation was looking at the scan of the liposarcoma prior to operating that she discovered something with the L3 vertebra which didn’t look right. She arranged for an emergency appointment with the MM specialist for three weeks later. When we attended that appointment my poor husband still had 48 staples down his torso and a right thigh so full of epidural anaesthetic that he needed a walking stick to get around. Treatment for MM started that very same day with a bone marrow biopsy, an infusion of Aredia to protect the bones, and medication which included Revlimid, Dexamethasone and Velcade. Four months later, in the December, he was in hospital having a stem cell transplant. He had what the doctors called a ‘good partial response’ and has done well since. He has just been told that his monthly blood tests can be reduced to every three months. He is currently on 10mg Revlimid, Valaciclovir and Eliquis. We both consider that, although he is unlucky to have MM, he was certainly lucky that it was discovered when it was.
We hope to move to somewhere in the Hampshire/Wiltshire/Somerset area of the UK. Our sons and their families live in Southampton and we need to be close to them. My grandson (23 in January) was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2015. He finished treatment in 2018 and we were all hoping he would get the five-year all-clear in March next year. Sadly, last month he relapsed and is now awaiting a bone marrow transplant so we can’t get home soon enough.
I have no idea what to expect from the NHS when we move back. As MM is treatable but incurable, my husband will need to be able to access treatment when he needs it. We hear all sorts of stories about the NHS but it has been absolutely brilliant with my grandson. He was admitted immediately when he was taken ill and the tests began that same day. I am very grateful that it takes such good care of him.
I hope I haven’t rambled on for too long.
