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Balance Therapy for Quality of Life With Quantity of Life With the Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma Patient.
A “non-transplant eligible patient” is a patient who is too weak to take the standard-of-care, aggressive high-dose chemotherapy and withstand the collateral damage aka side effects that come from an autologous stem cell transplant.
The article linked and excerpted below features oncologists talking about appropriate drug-combinations for this kind of myeloma patient. In short, conventional oncology gives the non-eligible multiple myeloma patient less chemotherapy than the transplant-eligable patient.
Less chemotherapy and less toxicity can be a good thing for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients. Chemotherapy is toxic. The less aggressive therapy a patient undergoes, the less toxicity the patient has to endure. The question then becomes if less chemotherapy sacrifices length of life or overall survival.
My experience as a long-term multiple myeloma survivor is that evidence-based, non-toxic, myeloma therapies such as curcumin (see below), can enhance conventional chemotherapy while killing multiple myeloma at the same time.
Whether or not you are eligible for aggressive therapies, consider integrative therapies such as curcumin as well as low-dose standard-of-care chemotherapy such as Revlimid.
You may be able to manage your MM while enjoying few side effects and a high quality-of-life.
“Conclusion: Curcumin exerts a cytotoxic effect additive to that of lenalidomide on H929 myeloma cells, and it also enhances the chemo-sensitizing effects of this agent.”
“I was first diagnosed with multiple myeloma in ’94. The world of mm treatment has changed radically since then.The link below is to the google search page for “curcumin, myeloma.” Whether it is an article authored by Pat Killingsworth or Margaret, curcumin is documented with both anti-myeloma action in addition to enhancing the action of Velcade, revlimid and thalidomide.”
The Most BioAvailable Curcumin Formulas
“Based on a review of these studies, it is evident that better bioavailability of formulated curcumin (CU) products is mostly attributed to improved solubility, stability, and possibly low first-pass metabolism”
A search of the Pubmed database for the word curcuminyields 601 studies spaning health topics from multiple myeloma and colorectal cancer, to chemotherapies that synergizes with CU, to Alzheimer’s Disease, arthritis and more. Based on years of reading studies and personal accounts, I think it is safe to say that CU supplementation is safe and relatively inexpensive.
I have read about myeloma patients taking daily doses of CU from 400 milligrams to 8 grams (1000 milligrams = 1 gram). By almost any measure, CU is a safe, inexpensive wonder drug.
The only challenge is that CU is famously difficult to absorb in the body. In other words, a person has to mix curcumin with some sort of fat (coconut oil, chocolate, etc.) or take a brand of curcumin capsule that is already formulated to be more “bioavailable” in order to derive the full benefit of CU.
The study linked and exerpted below reviews different formulations of CU. The study itself lists the three most bioavailable formulation/brand of CU and I’ve added an excerpt from a further review from Consumerlab.com that lists four additional bioavailable brands of CU.
I consult the independent evaluation service Consumerlab.com frequently. For one low annual payment, I can read about and evaluate all of the nutritional supplement that I take.
“Curcumin is a widely studied natural compound which has shown tremendous in vitro therapeutic potential. Despite that, the clinical efficacy of the native CU is weak due to its low bioavailability and high metabolism in the gastrointestinal tract. During the last decade, researchers have come up with different formulations with a focus on improving the bioavailability of curcumin. As a result, a significant number of bioavailable curcumin-based formulations were introduced with the varying range of enhanced bioavailability.
The purpose of this review is to collate the published clinical studies of CU products with improved bioavailability over conventional (unformulated) CU. Based on the literature search, 11 curcumin formulations with available human bioavailability and pharmacokinetics data were included in this review. Further, the data on clinical study design, analytical method, pharmacokinetic parameters and other relevant details of each formulation were extracted.
Based on a review of these studies, it is evident that better bioavailability of formulated curcumin products is mostly attributed to improved solubility, stability, and possibly low first-pass metabolism. The review hopes to provide a quick reference guide for anyone looking information on these bioavailable curcumin formulations.
exhibited over 100-fold higher bioavailability relative to reference unformulated CU. Suggested mechanisms accounting for improved bioavailability of the formulations and details on the bioanalysis methods are also discussed.”
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