My mum received an early Christmas present last week.

Diagnosed with a form of blood cancer called multiple myeloma – discovered after a compressed spinal fracture at the start of 2015 – she has undergone a range of medical treatments for this incurable cancer.     

There is always a set of numbers to watch with any illness these days. And in mum’s case, one of the most important is her para-protein count – high is bad, low is good.  

When you spend up to six hours on the drip in hospital each week, over two consecutive days, conversations with the patients in armchairs around you battling the same disease invariably turn to result comparisons.

And mum heard reports of great success from her fellow sufferers undergoing similar treatment.  

Mum was a high jump champion at teacher’s college, so she knows how to compete. And I’m pretty sure she has been determined to have the lowest para-protein count in the room, but she definitely wasn’t winning.  

Starting off with a count close to 60, Professor George helped bring that number down to 20.  

However, about a year ago the figure started creeping up again, and it was clear that a new approach was needed.

So, mum began trialling her current medication. Within months, that para-protein count began to fall. Twenty-eight became 14, then nine, five and two.  

Too many of mum’s oncology buddies still seemed to be beating her though. And Professor George couldn’t satisfy mum by telling her he was pleased with her progress, when mum knew for sure she could do better, was determined to do better and eagerly looked forward to the next blood test results to prove she had done better.  

Last week, mum received the gift of good news – her best result yet. 

Her para-protein count has fallen to between zero and one. And even though this is what mum has been aiming for, it still seems almost too good to be true.

Knowing mum though, I can tell she’s already wondering if it’s possible to get a minus score.