I mentioned acupuncture. Well, when I came home from the hospital, just after Thanksgiving, my next door neighbor, Richard Rudolph, a chiropractor, came over with this device that applied an electrical impulse to certain sensitive points on the outside of the ear. According to theory, these points are connected to pain centers in the body, and if this weak current is applied, the pain can be reduced. Unfortunately, Rich died in 2002, but he did have a thriving practice, and he found the time to extend his lunch hour so that he could make a personal house call and give me one of these treatments. And they worked. At that time, I was not able to sleep in bed. I would spend the entire night in the living room on a recliner. But after those treatments, the pain became more tolerable. The treatments provided temporary relief, and they needed to be repeated with frequency, but for the first time, thanks to Rich, I was able to get some sleep, and that was just enough to begin the healing process. And on the subject of great neighbors, Bob Lang, an endocrinologist, lived a few houses away and came by to make sure that I was taking the right supplements during my early high octane treatments. He also kept an eye on my diet which was never anything to brag about.

I truly have been watched and treated by some exceptional doctors. In 2001, my course of treatment was no longer humming along, and something very aggressive needed to be done.  I was taking thalidomide, but after a couple of years, its side effects became tough, and the effectiveness of the drug began to diminish. I did hear about a derivitive of thalidomide, called revimid, and it was just entering phase 1 trials. The drug was more powerful than thalidomide with fewer side effects. Dr. Vincent De Vita who was the Director of the Yale Cancer Center urged that I go to Boston and be treated by Ken Anderson who was leading up that trial of revimid. I was reluctant to go elsewhere because I received such excellent care at Yale, but this new drug had plenty of promise. De Vita knew that, and he wanted the best for me, even if it meant leaving Yale and going to Harvard, the Dana-Farber Institute. He contacted Ken, and soon I made an appointment. It was De Vita, too, who urged that I set up the myeloma research fund which has since become endowed and has as its goal to bring trials of new myeloma drugs to Yale. He also told me not to stop working, and that working has been very important to me. So, here is the head of Yale's Cancer Center, and a former director of the National Cancer Institute, telling me to stay productively busy, or else....So, that's why I still get up at 2:00 am. 

After going to Dana-Farber, I realized that I had found the very best treatment possibly available with one of the greatest human beings one could ever know. Dr. Anderson is the most optimistic physician on the planet, but optimistic with good reason. His research has been groundbreaking for myeloma. In 2001, a few new drugs were being tested with revimid being the most promising of the targeted therapies. Instead of being a nuclear explosion in one's body, these drugs focus on the cancer cell and its environment. I entered the phase 1 trial, and five years later, I am still on that same drug with some additions and modifications. But in terms of cancer, the level is now continuing at its historic low, and all thanks to Dr, De Vita's push down I-95, and Dr. Anderson's historic work. Every time I see Ken, I am filled with energy and excitment. My appointment lasts about an hour, and for 55 minutes we talk about things that are really important...the Red Sox, Patriots, global warming, and the new treatments being developed for myeloma. During the last five minutes of that appointment, you might call it an exam. I always feel taller when I leave his office even if I have shrunk 7 inches over 10 years. Since my last visit, I have found that there are dozens of new drugs being tested, and at least four of them, not to say anything about combinations, will turn into blockbusters! Thanks Ken.

On the subject of revimid, which will be approved by the FDA before 2006 is over and is now called revlimid(with an "l"), I have to say thanks to Celgene, a pharmaceutical company which really extended itself early for myeloma, something which the drug folks call an "orphan" disease.  There just isn't enough of us to normally make it worthwhile for a drug company to make an investment in this disease. Celgene saw otherwise back in the '90s, and they carried the torch for thalidomide, and then later developed derivitives such as revlimid. That company's stock has split, and split again, and split, yet again. They have proven that even an investment in an "orphan" disease can have its dividends. Now, numerous companies are working on drugs for myeloma. Jerome Zeldis, the Chief Medical Officer of Celgene has been there for myeloma patients. He is also someone who wonders what it is like to be a TV meteorologist. I have helped him with that one.

And before we move out of the medical area, I have to say thanks to the many nurses who have been there for me. My current nurse, Diane Dirzius, has been among the very best. Whenever I need test results, she has them ready for me, and when I need treatment, she makes sure that I receive it. If for some reason Diane can't get what I need, I know that Carol Schneider, Dennis Cooper's secretary will. She really knows how to move doctors and paperwork along, and she seems to know everyone, too.