Myeloma and Me

lesson for bothering him with my bad feet. “I'll give the bugger something to think about”. It certainly stopped me worrying about my feet for a while.

13 October 1994 The Evelyn Hospital seemed to me to be impressive, albeit with my less than vast experience, a lovely old building modernised with taste. Dr Marcus it turns out is a consultant haematologist at the Addenbrooke's, so far so good. He is younger than I had expected, quietly spoken, with no trace of obsequiousness, a professional who answered our questions as well as he was able. Clearly he was not going to make guesses at this early stage, and would need to know some facts before doing so. This step-by-step approach is without doubt correct, but the average impatient patient has to learn to accept this very early.

After an early chat and the noting of my medical history the process seemed to move forward of its own volition. Dr Marcus said that my original blood tests showed a few cells that he would need to find out more about. He said that he would need to carry out more tests, and would like a look at my bone marrow. When I asked him when, he said, “Well, now” and seemingly without any action on my part I was lying on an examination table trying my level best not to look at any needles or equipment. I have managed over the years to donate blood regularly, and never once in 36 years have I looked at what they were doing.

Whether it is normal practice, or if they picked up my nervousness I am still unsure, but the procedure was preferable to visiting a dentist, certainly a dental hygienist. There was no pain, but a discomfort throughout. This was made much better by both Dr Marcus and his nurse telling me what was going on, it is so much better than being left in the dark. I was told when an uncomfortable point was reached, and how long it would take, and I found this to be so helpful.

Hearing about procedures such as lumbar punctures (LP) in the past, I had doubted if I could actually submit to it, but after 20 minutes or so, I had completed my ordeal, and had endured as close to the dreaded LP as I would wish. More discussion with Dr Marcus before 13