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.
Multiple Myeloma Survivor- A Different kind of Second Opinion-
The Multiple Myeloma Cancer Coaching Course will Give You The Information and Therapies you Need to Beat Myeloma.
I’ve been a multiple myeloma survivor since early 1994. I’ve learned that when most people think of getting a second opinion after a diagnosis of multiple myeloma, (MM) they think of consulting another oncologist.
I’m not an oncologist. But I do know a lot about the good, bad and ugly aspects of multiple myeloma. I know that conventional oncology talks about a fraction of what multiple myeloma patients, survivors and caregivers need to learn about.
Conventional therapies such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy is important. But evidence-based, non-conventional therapies like curcumin, CBD oil, whole-body hyperthermia, etc. are just as important.
While a traditional oncological second opinion can be useful, talking to a long-term MM survivor a long-term survivor who has experienced and studied both conventional and non-conventional cancer care may identify issues that a conventional oncologist won’t.
For example, have you talked to your oncologist about:
- An anti-angiogenic (anti-cancer) diet and the foods you can incorporate into your daily meals to make your body less hospitable to multiple myeloma?
- The side effects you can anticipate— both short-term and long-term– from chemotherapy and radiation treatments and the supplements you can take to help alleviate, prevent, or heal these side effects?
- Whether or not your oncologist is a Multiple Myeloma specialist? If the hospital you go to has extensive experience with Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation (ASCT)?
- The therapies you can undergo to help detoxify your body during and after chemotherapy treatments?
- The psychological toll that myeloma takes on you and the importance of taking care of yourself mentally, emotionally, and spiritually?
These topics are a critical part of treating your MM. You must look at this process holistically– meaning that fighting MM is about more than selecting radiation or chemotherapy. There are many aspects to successfully treating MM and as a 20 plus year survivor, I know better than anyone how important these aspects are to long-term survival.
If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, let me say this loud and clear:
It is critical that you become an active participant in your care. Learn everything you can.
I am alive today largely because I took the time to find out everything I could about Multiple Myeloma and sought out the full spectrum of evidence-based MM therapies both conventional (FDA approved) and non-conventional.
Scroll down the page, post a question or a comment and I will reply to you ASAP.
Hang in there,
David Emerson
- MM Survivor
- MM Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Recommended Reading:
- MM- Intravenous Vitamin C Therapy
- MM- Curcumin as Evidence-based, Non-toxic Therapy
- MM Specialists- MM Cancer Coaching
Why get a second opinion?
“When you’re fighting a disease like cancer, you want to have confidence in the treatment options available and know that they are being delivered by a team of experts. A second opinion helps you feel confident that you are receiving the cancer care you need and deserve. A second opinion may reveal additional treatment options for your type and stage of cancer, or confirm a current treatment approach. Some treatment options may result in a speedier recovery, with fewer side effects and a better prognosis.
Exploring a second opinion may help you make a more informed decision about your cancer treatment. It may also introduce you to advanced treatment options, if they are available for your cancer type and stage. Here are six benefits of getting a second opinion for your cancer care:
Empowerment and control: By proactively seeking a second opinion, you and your loved ones become more informed about the available treatment options. Learning more about your cancer and your treatment options may also help you feel in control of your health.
Confidence and peace of mind: A second opinion may help you feel more confident that you are choosing the right treatment plan for you. According to one study, one in eight cancer patients is misdiagnosed. In some cases, a second opinion may point to a different type or stage of cancer, which would change the treatment plan. If the original diagnosis is confirmed, a second opinion may provide additional treatment options for you to consider…”
Multiple Myeloma Diagnosis- Get a Second Opinion- 7 key questions-
Job #1 of a Second Opinion is to Confirm your Multiple Myeloma Diagnosis- Different Oncologists recommend different therapy plans…
You have just received a multiple myeloma diagnosis. While it is a normal reaction is 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 for a multiple myeloma diagnosis should give you information about your MM,
- Your stage,
- Your prognosis,
- 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 MM diagnosis is less about yes or no and more about:
- cure vs. control,
- aggressive or conservative treatments,
- 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 is 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.
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…”
