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.
Get a Second Opinion after a Multiple Myeloma Diagnosis- 7 questions to ask-
Job #1 of a Second Opinion is to Confirm your Multiple Myeloma Diagnosis- Different Oncologists recommend different therapy plans…
You have been diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM). While it is a normal reaction to want to hurry into treatment, to hurry to kill your MM, the most important thing for you to do is to take a deep breath and get a second opinion. Why? A second opinion should give you information about your MM, your stage, your symptoms, your therapy choices and possibly information about the how you will live the rest of your life.
My experience as a multiple myeloma survivor is to confirm the diagnosis of the first oncologist. A diagnosis of MM is less about yes or no and more about cure vs. control, aggressive or conservative, toxic vs. non-toxic.
Job # 2 is about what, if anything, this oncologist has to offer that is different from your first opinion. When I was first diagnosed with multiple myeloma and met with several different oncologists over a period of months.
I found that it was the degree of aggressiveness that separated oncologists’ recommendations. Meaning, one regimen differs from a second regimen in its outcome- but may cause more or fewer side effects, may cause more or less collateral damage. It is critical for the newly diagnosed cancer patient to understand this.
It is important to note that the MM specialist who provides the longest average five year survival, Dr. James Berenson, does not believe in an autologous stem cell transplant for MM. Dr. Berenson adopts a low-dose approach to managing multiple myeloma.
The questions you should focus on are:
- What treatment options are available? What do you recommend and why?
- Is the treatment you recommend curative?
- What happens if the treatment doesn’t work for me?
- What are the side effects of the treatment and how often do your patients experience them?
- How many patients have you treated with my type and stage of cancer and how successful have you been?
- What lifestyle changes—such as diet, exercise, and rest—do you recommend I make to stay as healthy as possible before, during, and after treatment?
I am both a MM survivor and MM cancer coach. I have remained in complete remission from my incurable cancer since 1999 by living an evidence-based, non-toxic, anti-cancer lifestyle through nutrition, supplementation, exercise, detoxification, bone health and mind-body therapies.
Conventional toxic chemotherapy and radiation are usually necessary for the average MM patient but it is a mistake, in my experience, to take a one-size-fits-all approach to your multiple myeloma.
To learn more about all forms of evidence-based multiple myeloma therapies, scroll down the page, post a question or comment and I will reply to you ASAP.
Thank you,
David Emerson
- MM Survivor
- MM Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Recommended Reading:
- Cancer Prehabilitation-
- Nerve damage aka “Radiation-Induced Lumbosacral Plexopathy” therapies-
- Multiple Myeloma-Newly Diagnosed, Post SCT and Relapsed?
Could a Second Opinion Be Your Phoenix Rising Out of the Ashes?
“Nick VanDyk (patient advocate) might have said it best when he replied to a Pat Killingsworth (myeloma author) blog post by saying: “Oh and by the way, every time you mention the need for a specialist I want to jump up and down in energetic agreement. The one constant throughout all our observations is that the local hem / onc, no matter how good their bedside manner or how smart they may be, doesn’t have the knowledge to treat this disease with optimum efficacy. People need to find somebody who really understands the disease and has treated hundreds if not thousands of cases.” I nor most doctors could say this any better!”
Seeking a Second Opinion
“Many people seek a second opinion to confirm a cancer diagnosis, learn more about the cancer, and hear different opinions on the best treatment options. Make sure the doctor you are visiting for a second opinion has access to all your records from your original diagnosis…
How a second opinion may help
A second opinion may provide the following information:
- Confirmation of a diagnosis
- Additional details about the type of cancer and its stage, such as:
- Perspective from experts in different oncology disciplines, such as medical oncology, radiation oncology, and surgical oncology.
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- A description of where the cancer is located
- Whether the cancer has spread
- Whether it is affecting other parts of the body
- Other treatment options, in cases where the doctor disagrees with the initial diagnosis or the proposed treatment plan
- What clinical trials are available for you. These are research studies involving people…”
Why Get a Second Opinion
“Exploring a second opinion can help you make a more informed decision about your cancer treatment. It can also introduce you to advanced treatment options…”
