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I believe I take the same brand of Turmeric as you, David. I’ve been taking 400mg. twice a day. I plan on taking it unless something comes up about it being not so helpful. I hope that never happens
ReplyI was diagnosed with MM 8 years ago. I was on a maintenance drug for 2 years( brocade once a month. I’ve been of any form of chemo for 2 years( since COVID happened) I was wondering about supplements and anything else I can be doing in addition to proper nutrition.
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ReplyHi David, I’m 67 and was diagnosed with mm 4 years ago. I was told to do chemo and stem cell transplant, but I chose not to. I went vegetarian, took supplements, high dose vitamin C and exercised. Then I got a bit slack with it all and started to get pains in my back. I was ready to end it all (that was part of my plan anyway), but I thought if I am going to do that then maybe I should try the chemo. The oncologist put me in hospital for 1 week, I was down to half a kidney and had a tumor the size of a grapefruit pressing on my spinal chord. I had 10 lots of radiation and chemo. Now the pain has gone. My para protein levels went from well over 100 I think down to 70, then 35 then 10. I then had my biggest dose of chemo and gave myself injections to bring the white cell levels back up. They collected the stem cells and next month I am having stem cell transplant. They say they want to bring the para protein levels down to or as close to 0 as possible, but I wonder why they haven’t bothered to check my levels now. Maybe after that big dose of chemo my levels might be near 0 already. If so why have an even bigger dose of chemo next month?. I’m worried about having such a big dose especially with covid around.
I think from what I have read, you are not a big fan of stem cell transplant, but maybe that was the thing that saved you?. So if I cancel the transplant what would be my next step, and do you continue to take a chemo pill for maintenance. Thanks for all of your posts.
Hi Darryl,
From your post, it sounds as though your MM has stabilized. Excellent. You are correct. I am not in favor of most MM patients having aggressive, high-dose chemotherapy (an ASCT) after their induction therapy.
In your case, depending on your diagnostic testing results (CBC, metabolic panel, SPEF, etc.) your therapies do not have to be all or nothing. There are many therapy choices open to you at this point, both conventional and non-conventional.
If you do not have an ASCT, your possible therapies depend on where your MM is currently (are you in complete remission or VGPR?) and what therapies you had for your induction treatment. What chemo took you from 100 to 70 to 35 to 10?
You should ask yourself and your oncologist if you even need to undergo more chemo at this time. Again, this depends on your diagnostic info.
I had an autologous stem cell transplant in 12/95. I relapsed about a year later and was end-stage about a year after that. So no, it was not an ASCT that saved me.
No, I do not continue to take a chemo pill for maintenance. I have not had chemo of any kind since 1999.
I hope this helps.
Hang in there,
David Emerson
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ReplyI am undergoing treatment for stage IV gallbaldder cancer (no previous gallbladder issues). My oncology nurse says turmeric interferes with chemotherapy; but everything I read indicates that curcumin / turmeric is good to fight the cancer. Thoughts?
ReplyHi Cheryl,
I am sorry to read of your gallbladder cancer. The short answer to your question about curcumin possibly interfering with chemotherapy is that the issue has not been well studied. By that, I mean that conventional oncology requires human trials to test this type of issue.
The longer answer is that I have read several studies that cite curcumin enhancing the efficacy of specific chemotherapy regimens- proteasome inhibitors, IMIDS, others.
The challenge for a person like yourself, is that your oncologist will probably not accept the findings of in vitro or in vivo (test tube, animal) studies.
In my dealings with patients with my cancer, multiple myeloma, I link the studies and advise the patients to make up their own minds.
Hang in there,
David Emerson
ReplyCurious why you take the Life Extension when the Novasol shows higher bioavailability. Thank you.
ReplyHi Ana,
To be honest, I have wondered about my thinking, my motivations when it comes to my curcumin supplementation. Everyone in MM online groups is always talking about 10 times, 100 times, 400 times average potency…
Here are my current thoughts.
Firstly, being in complete remission, I don’t have the same priorities as the MM patient with active MM. My goal is to remain in CR, not get INTO CR.
Secondly, I have been taking curcumin since ’06 and I intend to continue taking it for the rest of my life. I hope that will be decades to come :-). So taking a low dose or maintenance dose of curcumin has always made sense to me.
Lastly, I admit that this last idea is more emotion rather than logic- I think my regimen, nutrition, lifestyle, supplementation, all are working well. Therefore I am EXTREMELY reluctant to change anything.
Let me know if you have any questions.
David Emerson
ReplyHi David,
I’m in Toronto. I was diagnosed in July 2015. This after months of back and forth with Dr’s who didn’t know what I had – Ended up in hospital with 7 broken vertebrae. Velcade/Dex/bone builder – then SCT in December 2015… Revlimid maintenance until January 2018 – Now Dara/Velcade/Dex. Have consulted with integrative cancer Dr Akbar Khan in Toronto. Did ozone and DCA but no real effect on numbers. Have also seen various other practitioners – Still feel I don’t have the right formula. If I booked a one hour session would you be able to sort some things out? Or would I need a few sessions?
Thanks
Connie
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ReplyHello,
last year my wife had her Pancreas out along with the tumour. 2 weeks ago she was diagnosed with Bilduct cancer after a P.ET.SCAN.there is no cure so she has started on Curcumin x 4000 3 a day.I have also bought Essiac tea after reading a well documented book about a Canadian nurse who treated people with cancer.she was only interested in one thing!that the people would benefit.she was not interested in profit.so hopefully my wife will benefit from these 2 powerfull products?
kind regards.
Barrie
Hi Barrie-
I am sorry for your wife’s bile duct cancer diagnosis. You are correct, there are few if any therapies offered by conventional oncology. You are also correct that curcumin kills bile duct cancer. At 12 grams per day, your wife is dosing large amounts of curcumin. The only issue I would check is the “bioavailability” of the specific brand of curcumin you are using.
Several formulas of curcumin offer enhanced absorption.
Good luck,
David Emerson
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21325634
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ReplyI just talked to my MM doc today. As expected she is not a supplement fan. Can’t guarantee what’s in them and don’t know if the help or hinder RVD. She says no. This is the summary of her comments. So now I have to decide…. I just ordered and received the super bio circumin 400mg. Along its reservitrol and DHEA.
ReplyHi George-
I wish I could understand conventioaal oncology. MM is an incurable cancer and we MMers are looking for any advantage possible. I guess we each have to decide.
thanks
David
ReplyDavid – I will be contacting you about what my Kaiser doctor said to me about my MM. I am all new to this.I was recently diagnosed with MM on July 5, 2017. I have other health issues. Myasthenia Gravis and boarderline diabetes. Can MM be placed into remission with chemothreapy alone? I have so many questions. I am not going to be angery about how or why do I have this illness. I am more concerned with kicking it’s ass and not allowing it to kick mine first. I use pure forms of tumeric, ginger, chili pepers, ginger, power greens. Very little red meat. A lot of chicken and fish and veggies.Cannabis both CBD and pure form. VALCADE and revlimid with dexamethasone is the main chemo of choice the doctor perscribed.Kaiser is against the use of cannabis due to the federal laws currently in place. I think that the team is uncertain if stem cell treatment is right for me at this time. Not sure what to think. With Kaiser a second opion will be one of their doctors not one of my choosing.
ReplyHi Aaron-
I am sorry to read of your MM diagnosis. You ask about several different issues.
Yes, MM can be put in remission with chemo alone however I would like to know your stage and symptoms at diagnosis. You are correct in thinking that dexamethasone may aggravate your pre-diabetes.
You would not be human if you were not emotional at the start of your life as a MMer. You can’t carry around your anger for too long but it is normal to be angry, sad, depressed, etc. I know I was…
Re kicking asses. MM is very treatable. Especially if you are doing both conventional (FDA approved) and non-conventional. The difficulty is the long-term. We’ll get to that…
Pure curcumin is difficult for the body to absorb. You must take one of the 4-5 formulas that are more bioavailable. I will link a study. I take BCM-95 in the form of SuperBio Curcumin.
Your diet is an excellent first step.
RVd is a solid chemo triplet for the majority of newly diagnosed MMers. Kaiser oncologists must adhere to the party line. Cannabis aka CBD oil has been shown to be cytotoxic to MM (assuming correct cannabinoid content and THC ratio). Further, CBD oil enhances the efficacy of velcade if you choose to undergo chemo alone.
Do not be surprised or dismayed when conventional oncology does not like any form of evidence-based non-conventional therapy such as curcumin or CBD oil. Conventional oncology must follow FDA rules.
Do you live in California? If you do I recommend a conventional MM specialist LA who can give you an actual second opinion. Dr. Berenson does not believe in autologous stem cell transplantation and may be able to walk you through low dose chemo with your other health issues.
David Emerson
ReplyHi Owen-
I will also reply to you via email. What can I do for you?
David Emerson
ReplyWhat are the options to start a dialogue with you ?
Please respond to my email as it doesn’t seem there are notifications on your site to me when you respond
-Owen
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