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.
Identify Anemia as a Symptom of Multiple Myeloma and Learn both Conventional and Non-Conventional Therapies to Feel Normal Again.
You are tired. Not the kind of tired that is fixed with a nap. Tired morning, noon and night. The question is, why? If you have been diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM), you know that this complicated blood cancer can cause anemia. According to research, about two-thirds of MMers are anemic when they are first diagnosed. Before we get to therapies that may restore red blood cells, let me define anemia.
Is caused by a low red blood cell count or reduced hemoglobin in the body. Red blood cells carry oxygen so fewer red blood cells mean less oxygen in your blood. Less oxygen and you feel tired or maybe even dizzy. In layman’s terms, the multiple myeloma cells in your blood grow and crowd out your red blood cells.
Therefore, many multiple myeloma patients experience exhaustion even before they are diagnosed.
How can you treat your anemia? Like all therapies there are conventional (EPO or a blood transfusion) or non-conventional therapies such as nutrition and supplementation.
Erythropoietin-stimulating agents such as epoetin alfa (Procrit, Epogen) and darbepoetin alfa (Aranesp) therapy to stimulate red blood cell production
Transfusion (in extreme situations)
The bottom line is that multiple myeloma itself can cause anemia, bone damage, kidney failure and other health issues. As MM cells multiply they can push out oxygen-rich, hemoglobin. This process means less oxygen getting into your blood. Therefore you feel fatigued.
Conventional therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation can cause anemia as well.
What have I learned about MM over the past 25+ years? Myeloma is about two things 1) symptoms (bone damage, anemia, kidney function, etc. and 2) side effects from toxic chemotherapy.
Whether you are debating treatment options, currently undergoing treatment and experiencing painful side effects, or trying to figure out how to stay in remission, please watch the brief video below to learn about evidence-based therapies that can help you manage your Multiple Myeloma:
“Anemia is a common complication in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and occurs in more than two thirds of all patients. The most frequent underlying pathophysiological mechanism is anemia of chronic disease (ACD), relative erythropoietin (EPO) deficiency (due partly to renal impairment) and myelosuppressive effects of chemotherapy, but many other factors may account for or contribute to anemia in myeloma.
In patients who achieve complete remission after chemotherapy, anemia usually normalizes. Nonresponders and relapsing myeloma patients often continue to suffer from anemia.
Treatment options for anemic myeloma patients include:
red blood cell (RBC) transfusions and
recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO).
Red blood cell transfusions convey an immediate effect and rapidly increase the patient’s hemoglobin level.
Unfortunately, effects of RBC transfusions are only transient and can be associated with several risks, including infections and mild to even life-threatening immunologic reactions.
rHuEPO is biologically equivalent to the human endogenous hormone EPO, and its application leads to an increase of hemoglobin levels over an extended time without the risks of blood transfusions. Several studies reported a significant improvement of erythropoiesis, reduction in transfusion need, and improved quality of life by using rHuEPO as long-term treatment of myeloma-associated anemia.
Recently, an international expert panel recommended the use of rHuEPO for anemic myeloma patients where other possible causes of anemia have been eliminated.
[…] Anemia — A test called Complete Blood Count will measure your red and white blood cells to see if you are living with anemia and are experiencing fatigue. […]
[…] myeloma, you may feel pressure to begin your therapy. Your stage and symptoms such as bone pain, anemia and kidney damage will often leads to your therapy […]
