Welcome to the club no one wants to join. A Multiple Myeloma diagnosis can be shocking. I hope that after spending some time with the information linked on this page, you will feel oriented in your "new normal" and empowered to make informed decisions about your treatment. Know that you're not alone. Below you will find links to dozens of evidence-based, myeloma-focused pages around the Internet as well as blog posts from the PeopleBeatingCancer website. If you care to learn more about cancer topics such as:simply click on the link to take you to the page to learn more about the term, diagnostic test, etc. that you would like to learn about.Click Now to Learn More About the Multiple Myeloma Cancer Coaching Course
If you’ve heard those four chilling words, “you have multiple myeloma,” they are sort of meaningless until you are staged, which happens after taking a slew of diagnostic tests. At the same time, you should consider getting a second option. Not only do oncologists disagree on therapy plans (surgery, chemo, radiation) but so do pathologists- the doctors looking through the microscope at a sample of cells and make a diagnosis. Diagnostic testing and staging are important for newly diagnosed myeloma patients mainly because pre-myeloma and early-stage cancers are often curable. Sometimes without chemotherapy or radiation.Diagnostic Basics-
- Pre-Cancer- Precancers are also called dysplasias, a term that means that abnormal cells have been found in the tissue. Dysplasias aren’t cancer, but may become cancer, and are graded as mild, moderate or severe depending on how abnormal the cells look compared to healthy cells.
- Stage- Stage refers to the extent of your cancer, such as how large the tumor is and if it has spread. Knowing the stage of your cancer helps your doctor understand how serious your cancer is and your chances of survival
Conventional Therapy Basics-
- Surgery- Cancer surgery is an operation or procedure to remove a tumor from the body. Sometimes, some surrounding healthy tissue is also removed. It is the oldest kind of cancer treatment, and it still works well to treat many types of cancer today.
- Chemotherapy- simply put, chemotherapy is any chemical designed to treat cancer whether intravenous, oral, topical, etc.
- Radiation- Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-ray or other particles to destroy cancer cells.
Non-Conventional Therapy Basics-
- Complementary Therapies-work with or complement your conventional therapy. For example, exercise before, during and after therapy has been shown to enhance its efficacy while reducing side effects.
- Integrative Therapies- integrative therapies are those therapies shown to synergize or enhance conventional therapies. For example, the nutritional supplement curcumin, has been shown to enhance certain types of chemotherapy regimens.
- Alternative Therapies-are those therapies used instead of conventional or tradition therapies such as surgery, chemo or radiation. A good example of an alternative therapy is antineoplaston therapy (ANP) that I underwent after I underwent several years of standard-of-care therapies for my cancer.
Click now to learn more about the Multiple Myeloma Cancer Coaching Course
Important Issues in the Multiple Myeloma Debate-
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- Newly Diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma? Start here.