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I’ve been sharing my health status with you guys all along, so I suppose I ought to continue even when the news isn’t as positive as I’d like. Here goes.

As you recall, a few days ago I got the 3-week results of my M protein level, a marker for cancerous plasma cells. It had gone down to 0.38, which was an OK result, but not great. It really needs to be zero or close to it. Yesterday I got the 5-week results, and my M protein level has increased to 0.56.

This is obviously bad news. It means I didn’t respond very well to the second round chemotherapy and the stem cell transplant. But there’s no point in wigging out about it yet. I won’t really know what it means until I get a biopsy and talk to my doctor later this month. At the very least, however, it means I’ll definitely begin maintenance therapy, and probably sooner rather than later.

For now, that’s all I know. In early July I should know more.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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