THE INVESTIGATION into Polycythemia in late Spring, early summer of 2013 meant several rounds of new and repeated tests over a period of weeks.

In short order my hematologist Dr. T. had additional news that he seemed genuinely sorry to deliver. It seems a blood test known as electrophoresis revealed I had what’s known as an MGUS — a Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance. This is a benign condition in which an abnormal protein (monoclonal protein, or M protein) is present in the blood, produced by misbehaving plasma cells. Plasma cells, a type of white blood cell found in the bone marrow, produce some of the antibodies that help the body fight infection.

MGUS is sometimes a pre-cursor to Multiple Myeloma. It seemed to have just appeared. Ominous, but it only develops into Myeloma in about 1 percent of cases per year, and usually after several or many years. The main treatment is periodic monitoring.

Of course my first assumption was that the secondary Polycythemia and the MGUS might be somehow causally related. But checking the literature online revealed that the two diseases appeared together in a tiny number of instances. My hematologist confirmed that this was most likely a rare coincidence.

Flash-Forward

Some months later, while attending a patient support group for Myeloma patients, I introduced myself to a charismatic young physician, Dr. A.,  who happened to be the only Multiple Myeloma specialist based here in Tucson. I told him quickly of my dual diagnosis. Had he encountered many patients like me before? His widened eyes were all the answer I needed.

“You realize that’s like being struck by lightning twice,” he said, in a tone that seemed to border on admiration. I suppose I felt proud about that.

NEXT: This is About Myeloma, Right?

©2014 James Tenser