I was diagnosed in may 2006 and am undergoing chemotherapy with thalidomyde and dexamethazone. My doctor said that is working. If anybody out there knows this disease, please reply! Can I beat it, or at least prolong my life span after the bone marrow transplant? Thanks for answering (hopefully!).
2006-10-01 17:50:07 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Cancer
I am getting pomidronate once a month, my blood count also. The thalidomide I'm taking since July 15/2006 and apparently till the end of Nov.2006. After that doctors are planning a stem cell transplant using my own.
2006-10-01 18:07:51 · update #1
Hi,
You can live a long time with MM, or you can go very fast. I have had it for 32 months, I know people that have had it for 10 years
It depends on a ton of variables, how you react to treatment and when they caught it, your age, some genetic factors and many other items.
Thal/dex is a good start - make sure you keep a close eye on Peripheral neuropathy - PN for short, and also DVT (deep vein thrombosis) - both are common but dangerous side effects to the treatment.
You are not going to get a bone marrow transplant - you are probably getting a STEM cell transplant (SCT).n Different procedure, and using your own cells is the normal way to start.
Good you are on Pamidronate - good to strengthen the bones and it effects the interaction of the marrow with the plasma cells too. Their was a large meting last month at Mayo on how long to be on it etc - side effect is necrosis of the jaw (rare but ugly).
The MM "scene" is changing every day - so I Hope you have a specialist in MM, since it is a challenging cancer to treat,
For more information and to get a lot of good publications -
www.myeloma.org
plus support groups and they have a hot line also.
good luck,
jewells
32 months and still here
2006-10-04 01:32:21 · answer #1 · answered by jewells_40 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
1
2016-12-24 02:31:12 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know about Multyple Myeloma, or bone marrow transplants, but I might be able to explain what your in for.
I had Colon Cancer about a year ago and I am 53 . I was given Chemotharapy and Radiation treatments after the surgery.
By the way, I should mention that only your doctor can really say what your chances are and you should ask your doctor all your questions until he runs out of answers, that's what he for!
I might be a little out of my field, but multiple cancers, are not are no more of a risk to your health than one, because they can be removed. If the Cancer has had a chance to metastasize (spread inside the body), that would be more of a risk and your doctor would be talking more about extending life, rather than beating the Cancer! I dont know of your peticular case so I will assume that the cancer will be completly treated with the Chemotherapy, Radiation therapy and Surgery.
The chemicals you will receive for your therapy are so much better than in earlier years, that you can expect a positive outcome if not a... I want to say complete recovery, but being a survivor, there is no such thing as complete ! The chemicals are designed, so to speak, to attack Cancer cells. Although, You may find after beginning therapy that the chemicals will also attack healthy cells. Some people lose there hair, vomit or worse. For the first six or eight weeks or longer, you may find it diffucult to believe that the anything the doctor is doing is better than the alternative! Youll definitely have a hard time showing your doctor how greatful you are, or should feel, that your still here!
Part of your treatment will be the removal of all the Cancer. Depending on where it is located you might need to get accustomed to living with less and in some locations you may have no other choice, but to wait until it shrinks.
Can you beat it? ...I don't know. Yes, the treatment will prolong life. Cancer is not the "Messenger of Death" that it once was because of the advances made in new Cancer drugs.
Goodluck!!
2006-10-01 19:45:32 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
My father had multiple myeloma. He was diagnosed in 2000 and there is no known cure for it however remission is possible. He also had a bone marrow transplant using his own marrow which worked for only about 8 months then he was back out of remission showing very high levels of protien in his urine again. We were told the span for this cancer is 5 years and we had 3 really great years and then after that it was all down hill. However he did not pass away from the cancer itself but from his kidneys shutting down as a result of the myeloma. I wish you the best of luck and pray that your transplant brings you great results.
2006-10-07 12:56:46 · answer #4 · answered by Stacy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Multiple Myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells that can involve the bone, organs, etc. It is a disease that can affect multiple organ systems and therefore destructive if caught late. However, medical technology today allows it to be diagnosed early, and there are many treatment available for this disease.
MM tends to be a slow growing disease, and the therapy you're receiving is a very reasonable one. Thalidomide + Dexamethasone has shown a lot of response, but it is not a chemotherapy in the traditional sense. It is regarded more as an anti-angiogenic therapy. Traditional chemotherapy has been used as treatments (e.g. Doxil-Vincristine-Dexamethasone.)
Unfortunately, MM is not regarded as a curable disease as we know it today, but given its indolent nature and the treatments we have available, long term survival (in terms of years rather than months) is possible. Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (usually autologous, or your own) has been shown to increase survival and is still being used today.
However, there are new advances in the field of MM. The recent approval of lenalidomide (Revlimid), a cousin to Thalidomide, has been shown to improve survival significantly. This will need to be compared to stem cell transplantation in clinical trials in the future to see whether it can further improve outcome in this disease.
2006-10-02 11:12:20 · answer #5 · answered by Cycman 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The Stem cell transplant is the way to go. It does carry some risk but it will improve your quality of life a great deal. You can also have multiple transplants either in short succession or farther apart. I read the answers and Cycman and Jewell give some excellent information.
My prayers are with you!
2006-10-06 15:17:17 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Neuropathy is just a painful illness but with the guide of Dr. Randall Labrum, Neuropathy Solution, a book that you will discover here https://tr.im/cx9U9 you can eliminate thermosetting suffering that condition cause it.
If you follow all the treatment solutions presented in Neuropathy Solution book properly your brain will launch endorphins, or “happy chemicals”, and these can help you fight pain and alleviate stress.
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2016-05-16 18:03:58 · answer #7 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Take a look at the site below which explains many misunderstood things about the cancer industry, and has some natural cures too.
Cancer
http://dgwa1.fortunecity.com/body/cancer.html
2006-10-05 02:14:15 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It is highly treatable when diagnosed and caught early. The extent of these treatments and the change of success depends on the seriousness of the prostate cancer, and what type you have, your age,and your general health the better condition you are in the better chance you have of a full recovery, as well as a smaller chance of relapses.
2006-10-01 18:14:27 · answer #9 · answered by I am women 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
very treatable and survivable; i see people at the hospital coming in all the time for chemo and stem cell transplants as well; they are fighting it and living a normal life in the mean time.
good luck to you and don't give up!
god bless you!
2006-10-01 18:23:52 · answer #10 · answered by seriously shannon 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋