Who has dealt with multiple Myeloma cancer? either them self or somebody you know? How did you deal with it?

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My dad has recently been diagnosed with advanced Multiple Myeloma. We had no idea that he had it. One day we thought that he was having a stroke, the next day we found out that he has cancer. Does anyone have experience with it and any advice? His doctor is telling us that this type of cancer is not categorized into stages as some other cancers are. has anyone been told differently ? I am just trying to wrap my head around the whole situation..
I'm very sorry to hear of your father's diagnosis.

Myeloma is considered a blood cancer. I think your best bet is to try contacting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The LLS's website is www.lls.org. Despite the name, the LLS actually helps with ALL kinds of blood cancers, including Myeloma. They have TONS of resources and information on Myeloma, and even offer a live help function. Here is there myelmoa page with lots of information: http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page?item_id=7032

There's also a myelmoa discussion board: http://community.lls.org/community/bloodcancer/livingwith/multiplemyeloma

You can also try contacting the MMRF: http://www.themmrf.org/

Best of luck -- I know when I was first diagnosed with cancer how hard it was to get a grip on the situation and to understand what options were out there. I found the LLS really helpful in that regard.  (+ info)

what is the cure rate for multiple myeloma in an average 76 year old woman?

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the blood work showed it a year ago, but the woman's doctor retired without telling her, and it was neglected to be told to her....what information do you have?
unfortunately there is no cure for it. multiple myeloma is a bone marrow cancer and your bone marrow is what makes your blood. so unlike say breast cancer where there is a tumor in one area that can be removed and radiated, this cancer is a systemic, or full body cancer. sometimes with chemo it can be put into remission but it is never gone. unfortunately the majority of patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma (over 95 percent) will eventually die from it. 1/3 of patients die within a year of being diagnosed, 1/3 live for 3 to 5 years after diagnosis and 1/3 go on to live beyond five years, sometimes into the 10 year or longer mark, but this is extremely rare. i am sorry to be the bearer of bad news like this.
on the other hand though, it NEVER hurts to cling to that rarity. after all, those people that live longer than 10 years were probably told they would die quickly, they fought it and look where it got them. my motto is to NEVER give up hope!  (+ info)

My wife has been diagnois with multiple myeloma and she has come up with some unusal conditions.?

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her stomach has become extremely large with tremendious pain in her abdomen and ribs.This has made it very difficult to sit up, breathe and move. Doctors have checked but have come up with no answers. Can someone please help.
Could it be acities? Fluid build up in the abdomen which is quite common among cancer patients.

I hope they find out something to help relieve this pain. My thoughts and prayers are with you and yours.  (+ info)

Multiple Myeloma, what is the survival rate for this cancer?

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My dad has it and he seems to be doing really good.
He is 43 and we are becoming healthier each and every day.
He just got a stem cell transplant this morning and my mom says he is doing well.
So i dont want i feel bad for you and blah blah blah.
I just want the cold hard truth.
If the transplant IS successful and he is cancer free for more than 1 year without a flare up, I would say the odds are good he could make it to 5 years. The oncologist will then treat it as a chronic, rather than acute condition, and your father will have to be monitored regularly for the rest of his life. Flare ups will be treated with steroids and chemotherapy.

Multiple Myeloma is a very tricky disease. It is driven by a person's metabolism, which is why young patients succumb the quickest.
Hopefully the oncologist will keep a sharp eye on his blood enzymes, as this disease loves to attack the filter organs of the body: the liver, spleen, and kidneys. It can also cause leukemia.

Just be warned: If it does return, it does so with a vengance, and is usually fatal.  (+ info)

Has anyone ever know someone with Multiple Myeloma cancer?

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I was asking because my brother's wife has that cancer and she is not doing well at all, and I was wanting to connect with someone about this.
thank you to Lj, my sister in law has had all the treatments and blood tranfusions, her last round of chemo (cytoxin?) and it took her down really bad. Bleeding in her brain is the biggest problem and she is unresponsive. Please people who read thia pray for her, I know you dont know her but she needs all prayers. Thank you!
  (+ info)

What percentage of patients with multiple myeloma survive?

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Multiple myeloma is a complicated and serious "blood cancer". After four years, the survival rate is about 20% (University of Michigan Cancer Center statistics). I have heard physicians speak, however, of patients who live 10 years or more with multiple myeloma, or whose symptoms, with treatment, decrease until the patient dies of some other natural cause (multiple myeloma is more common among older people).

Read about Multiple Myeloma at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/multiplemyeloma.html

This article is particularly good and easy to understand: http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/multiple-myeloma/DS00415/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print

My mother has MGUS, which is often a precursor of multiple myeloma. I have been reading about multiple myeloma for several years now.  (+ info)

Can anyone give me information on multiple myeloma(blood cancer.) What is the survival time?

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This is Stage 2 multiple myeloma
Hi,

Stage II doesn't say much with MM.

It depends on the age of the person, the M Spike level, how they are responidng to treatment, damage MM did before diagnosis and a lot of other things.

Survival can be short or very long (over 10 years).

There are a lot of new drugs out there that can help too.

For more information:

www.myeloma.org

they also have a hot line if you want to call. Hardest thing with MM is the not knowing - every one's MM is different and it makes it hard to treat. There is no "playbook" for MM based on staging; which means you need to make sure you are seeign someone with a good understanding of the cancer.

Good luck,

Jewells
32 months and still here  (+ info)

Is it possible to have healthy children after having multiple myeloma?

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The question of being able to have healthy children depends on the therapy received. As chemotherapy used few years back had a high incidence of infertility.
One of the first line drugs for myeloma today is thalidomide, which is a known to cause severe damage in the baby within the womb. Therefore, getting pregnant when on therapy is a risky task.

On other hand in case you do not undergo therapy, myeloma is associated with abnormal production of proteins and has a high incidence of bone marrow involvement. In case the patient is pregnant the chances that baby is affected is very high because of these effects. In addition the risk to the patient is also very high.
  (+ info)

why is it best to do treatment in india for multiple myeloma chemotherapy rather than in singapore?

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my dad has cancer in his bone marrow so i want to know which country hospitals is going to best for him india or singapore.
As per my experience, its good in India

Indo-American Cancer Institute & Research Centre
Road No.14, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad - 34, AP
Ph : 0091 40 23551235 / 23552766 / 23607944
Fax : 23542120  (+ info)

What is the life expectancy of someone w/multiple myeloma?

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My father was diagnosed w/ MM at 48 with bence jones protein 1200. The first treament of chemo almost killed him.His blood clots easily and the port was moved twice becauses of clots. He suffered minor heart attack.He was on Thalidomid for 2YRS! Now at BJP level 700 at 52 yrs. old and no Thalidomid. The Dr.'s waiting for BJP level to reach 1000 for chemo. Lots of kidney and BP trouble. Anyone with experience with this?
Hi,

Sounds like he is doing ok right now - does he have any mono protein elevation? Unusual MM to have BJP and not a lot of IG? involvement.

Two good sources for information:

www.myeloma.org (they also have a hot line)

and

www.multiplemyeloma.org

you cna get a lot of information there.

As far as your questions; life expectancy depends on a very complicted set of variables - MM is tough to "stage".

some people can live for 20 years and others die within 3. Fact he is off thal (look into velcade - lot less side effects), it's been 4 years and his BJP is still under 1000 shows he is doing OK.

Good luck,

jewells
29 months and still here  (+ info)

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