Recently Diagnosed or Relapsed? Stop Looking For a Miracle Cure, and Use Evidence-Based Therapies To Enhance Your Treatment and Prolong Your Remission
Multiple Myeloma an incurable disease, but I have spent the last 25 years in remission using a blend of conventional oncology and evidence-based nutrition, supplementation, and lifestyle therapies from peer-reviewed studies that your oncologist probably hasn't told you about.
Click the orange button to the right to learn more about what you can start doing today.
After careful reading, you can see the article below focusing on several central issues to our lives as MMers. These issues are central to what newly diagnosed MMers must consider before undergoing induction therapy and again if he/she is considering an autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT).
Newly diagnosed MMers can take the info below into account when considering your therapy plan.
The central issues for brain health for newly diagnosed MMers are:
The more chemotherapy a MMer undergoes, the worse the chemo-brain- from how many cycles of induction therapy to whether or not you have high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell rescue.
The older the patient the more likely he/she is to develop chemo-brain
Chemo-brain is not a zero-sum side effect- it is not “you have it or you don’t-” 75% of patients suffer from some form of chemo-brain after toxic therapies-
The take-away for the article is 1) can newly diagnosed MMer prevent chemo-brain and 2) can MMers heal our chemo-brain? I believe in those integrative therapies shown to reduce chemo toxicity. Further, I follow chemo-brain healing regimen daily, weekly and monthly.
I have lived with multiple myeloma since my original diagnosis in 1994. I have lived in complete remission since April of 1999. If you would like to learn more about healing your chemo-brain and/or managing your multiple myeloma, scroll down the page, post a question or a comment and I will reply ASAP.
Please watch the video below to learn more about the evidence-based, integrative therapies to combat treatment side effects and enhance your chemotherapy.
“Results from a recent study indicate that many myeloma patients are likely to suffer impaired cognitive function after their initial multiple myeloma therapy, and stem cell transplantation often causes further impairment.
Nearly half of the patients in the study had cognitive impairment, often referred to as ‘chemo-brain,’ after receiving initial anti-myeloma therapy. Half of the patients experienced further impairment of cognitive function at one month and again at three months following autologous (own) stem cell transplantation.
The study authors explain that the most common signs of cognitive impairment were problems with learning, memory, and coordination.
In addition, they note that older patients, minorities, those with more advanced disease, more induction cycles, or impaired cognitive function following induction therapy were at greater risk for further cognitive impairment following stem cell transplantation...
Based on their results, the investigators suggest that patients who undergo autologous stem cell transplantation, particularly those who expect to resume work that involves high cognitive demand, be made aware of the risk of cognitive impairment following transplantation and offered counseling or support…
Results
Following induction therapy and prior to autologous stem cell transplantation, 47 percent of the patients already showed signs of cognitive impairment, with learning/memory and executive function being the most compromised. Executive function refers to the ability to plan, organize, strategize, execute, and manage time.
In particular, older patients were found to be more likely to have psychomotor speed issues. Psychomotor function refers to simple actions that involve communication between the brain and other body parts, such as throwing a ball or driving a car…
Of the 41 patients who were available to be assessed one month following transplantation, 49 percent experienced worse cognitive function after transplantation compared to before transplantation. Specifically, 20 percent of patients declined on one, 10 percent on two, and 20 percent on three measures of cognitive function.
The investigators note that the most common cognitive issues a month after transplantation were learning/memory problems (22 percent to 29 percent of the patients) and motor function (15 percent of the patients).
Of the 29 patients who were available to be assessed three months following transplantation, 48 percent showed cognitive decline compared to their cognitive function one month after transplantation. Specifically, 31 percent of the patients declined on one, 14 percent on two, and 4 percent on three measures of cognitive function.
Similar to the previous two assessments, learning/memory problems (18 percent of the patients) and psychomotor speed (21 percent of the patients) were the most commonly affected functions.
Age, education, disease stage, number of induction cycles, and cognitive impairment prior to stem cell transplantation were all associated with impaired cognitive function three months after transplantation.
The researchers note that only 25 percent of patients displayed stable or improving performance on all cognitive measures throughout the study.
For more information, please refer to the study in the journal Cancer (abstract).”
I have had prostate cancer and now have been diagnosed with multiple myeloma.. My memory is almost gone. I have been treated for cancer for since 2011. I’m looking for any help I can find to help me with this ongoing chemo-brain. Thanks for any help.
[…] Myeloma Cancer Coaching-A Different Kind of Second Opinion from a MM Survivor Chemo-Brain- Almost Half of Myeloma Patients Multiple Myeloma- Minimal Residual Disease, Complete Remission, etc. Do you […]
Hi Djavan- Several things. I follow several therapies I believe keep me in remission from my cancer that also has been shown to help brain function. Examples would be curcumin, resveratrol, omega 3, Acetyl-L-Carnitine. Further, several foods have also been shown to enhance brain function- any foods that supply omega 3,6,9’s such as fish oil of course but also nuts- cashews, even plain old peanuts. Caffeine also helps brain function.
The therapy that I think helped me improve my cerebral dysfunction the most, however, were brain games/brain training specifically with Posit Science. Not overnight healing but specific games for facial recognition, memory (lists…), sounds, rhythm, etc. all make a difference.
My point with all the above is that I’ve been managing my health for years now. Chemobrain was a priority but one side effect in the mix. I am saying that my efforts were steady, daily for a long time but shown to enhance my overall health, not just my brain function.
