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.
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What input/suggestions do you have prior to induction chemotherapy for multiple myeloma and during for 6 to 8 cycles of RVd do you have to improve efficacy and minimize collateral damage/ side effects?
Hi David- Presently, I’ve been diagnosed at late stage 2 or early stage 3 Multiple Myeloma. My MM was confirmed (diagnosed) on July 11, 2019. I didn’t have any symptoms per se. I just stumbled across my MM through blood tests. On 7-18-19 I start Revlimid, Velcade, Dexamethasone (RVd) chemo. I’m 68 years old.
What input/suggestions do you have prior to chemo and during for 6 to 8 cycles do you have to improve efficacy and minimize collateral damage/ side effects? Should I tell my oncologist?
I’ve read some of your info, but the process for me is slow going.
Thank you. Al
Hi Al,
If a person has to have MM, then a diagnosis with no symptoms is best from a prognosis standpoint. And at 68, you are young as MMers go.
As for your question “What input/suggestions do you have prior to chemo and during for 6 to 8 cycles do you have to improve efficacy and minimize collateral damage/ side effects?”
Studies show that you will respond better, on average, if you “pre-habilitate.” Pre-habilitation is like you are “getting in shape” for a sport or an event. Nothing extreme but if you could exercise a bit daily (a brisk walk, for example), stop tobacco, little or no alcohol, include angiogenic-inhibiting foods (see in your nutrition guide), and supplement, again with anti-angiogenic supplements.
Curcumin, resveratrol, omega-3 fatty acids, etc. all are listed in the MM Cancer Coaching supplementation guide, all with research to support the anti-MM action. Excellent for pre-habilitation.
In addition, you should begin to focus your diet on anti-angiogenesis foods. A list of fruits and veggies are listed in the MM CC Nutrition guide.
Your goal, as a newly diagnosed MM patient, is to respond to your induction therapy with as little chemo, or as few rounds of chemo, as possible. Yes, the standard is 5-6. But if you reach complete remission (m-spike of 0) for example, after only 3 rounds, then your organs will sustain less toxicity and your prognosis will be that much better.
Pre-habilitation has also been shown to reduce the patient’s risk of side effects. I will link the studies below.
As for your question “Should I tell the Dr.?” I always encourage MM patients to tell their oncologists everything. However, I also tell MM patients not to expect much feedback from conventional oncology when it comes to anything that is outside of traditional or conventional FDA approved oncology.
I tell patients this simply because conventional oncology is tasked or allowed by law to stick to those therapies that have been researched and approved by the FDA. I don’t think that pre-habilitation, as logical as it sounds, is approved by the FDA.
In the case of prehabilitation, you will probably get a hearty “well, it can’t do any harm… go ahead.”
““The evidence supports the notion that prehabilitation programs can improve physical and psychological health outcomes and decrease overall health care costs. The care model for cancer prehabilitation should include timely and efficient assessment throughout the care continuum with a focus on improving outcomes in cancer at every stage…”
“RESULTS: Physically active patients showed superior outcomes in R-MCI (p = 0.0005),
fatigue (p = 0.0063),
treatment tolerance (p = 0.0258) and
hospital stays (p = 0.0072).
Furthermore, they showed better treatment responses (p = 0.0366), especially complete remission (CR; p = 0.0018) as well as better OS and PFS.
CONCLUSION: Physical activity in patients with MM undergoing ASCT seemed associated with better overall clinical outcome. Randomized clinical trials are required to understand the benefits and devise strategies for improving exercising among patients with MM.
“Although there is much excitement about the possibility that probiotics could prevent cancer, the most well-studied use of probiotics is as supportive care for patients undergoing anticancer treatment…
Treatment-Induced Diarrhea
Infections
Mucositis
Conclusions
Several small RCTs suggest that probiotics may help reduce the incidence and/or severity of anticancer treatment-induced toxicities, particularly diarrhea, postsurgical infections, and mucositis. Probiotics appear to be associated with few AEs, though it is important to note that the United States does not regulate the labeling of probiotics. Bloodstream infections are possible, although rare, particularly among patients who are immunocompromised.”
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2 comments
Kris Bartkus says
4 years ago
Hi Dave, Just found your page! Can you send me more info on pre-habilitation therapies for RVD induction? Thank YOU!!!! ~Kris yourrainbow13@gmail.com
