“The challenge for those newly diagnosed Multiple Myeloma patients that achieve remission is that the toxicity of those therapies can cause life-threatening side effects to the patient’s blood, bones, kidneys, and heart.
Hello David. Can you please recommend all the supplements I should take? I was diagnosed wot multiple myeloma last year August after an MRI scan. I had bone lesions and lytic lesions and a fractured vertebrae.
I started my treatment and had on 4 cycles of Velcade and thalidomide. After that did my preparation for the stem cell transplant. Thank God I had no complications and I am in remission.
I am on revlimid for maintenance after my stem cell transplant.
I asked my doctor if I could take supplements but she was not too keen.
I take-
- 1500mg Vitimin D 3
- 600mg calcium daily.
Best, Betty
Hi Betty,
There are two general replies to your question “please could you recommend all the supplements I should take. I am on revlimid for maintenance after my stem cell transplant.”
Like most MM patients, you probably are asking about supplements that are cytotoxic to MM. At the same time, if you have already had induction chemotherapy (chemo right after you were first diagnosed), you may have short, long-term and/or late stage side effects that supplementation can help heal.
The “two replies” that I’m referring to then, are supplements that kill MM or supplements that heal symptoms and side effects. I don’t mean to complicate things but this list of both anti-MM as well as pro-healing is long.
As you know from reading the post you read before writing your question, thymoquinone aka black seed oil is
- cytotoxic to multiple myeloma
- overcomes the chemoresistence of MM while enhancing chemotherapy regimens such as Velcade and Revlimid
- protected kidneys from the toxic effect of chemotherapy
- enhanced bone formation
- enhanced heart health
The other supplements that are also multi-functional where MM is concerned is
- Vitamin D3-
- Omega-3 fatty acids-
- Curcumin-
- Magnesium-
Please see the article linked below.
There may be other supplements that are multi-functional when it comes to managing multiple myeloma but those supplements are the only ones that I have researched so far.
There are many other supplements that can help or heal a specific health problem (symptom and/or side effect) of a MM patient.
For example, if you have bone pain, damage, involvement, you may want to learn more about CBD oil. Research has shown that CBD oil can manage pain/anxiety, is bone building and enhanced Velcade.
Further, if you have kidney involvement (free light chains? Creatinine or BUN is out of the normal range?) you may want to learn more about those therapies that have been shown to heal kidney damage.
And the same can be said for immune health, blood health, heart health even integrative therapies. Curcumin, for example, enhances the efficacy of Revlimid.
My point Bridget, is that I need to know more about your current status as a MM patient. This is why you are frequently taking blood, urine and bone tests. To keep an eye on your blood, kidney, bone, heart, etc. health.
I hope this reply is helpful and not too complicated. Let me know if you have any questions.
David Emerson
- MM Survivor
- MM Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Recommended Reading:
“The challenge for those newly diagnosed Multiple Myeloma patients that achieve remission is that the toxicity of those therapies can cause life-threatening side effects to the patient’s blood, bones, kidneys, and heart.
The most serious of all side effects is an eventuality of all multiple myeloma patients- MDR aka multi-drug resistance.
The answer, in this survivor’s opinion anyway, is the judicious use of those nasty, both life threatening while at the same time, life saving, toxic therapies. When I say “judicious” I simply mean to employ those therapies efficiently. For example, an autologous stem cell transplant aka high-dose, aggressive chemotherapy is NOT an efficient use of chemo.
The less toxicity, the fewer side effects and the less likelihood of MDR. But you might be thinking “that’s easier said than done!” And you may have a point…”
“The most common multiple myeloma symptoms are also the most common multiple myeloma side effects which are also the most common MM causes of death.
I don’t believe that all that commonality between MM symptoms, MM side effects and MM COD is a coincidence. I think conventional oncology has MM treatment backwards.
Vitamin D3 is an excellent example of an evidence-based therapy that is easy to administer, has few if any side effects and is downright cheap…”
“Multiple myeloma, the blood cancer itself, causes bone, kidney, blood and heart damage. Multiple myeloma therapies cause bone, kidney, blood and heart damage. Most of the time it is impossible for myeloma patients and survivors to tell the difference between damage done by MM symptoms or damage done from MM side effects. Fortunately, omega-3 fatty acids protect against bone, kidney, blood and heart damage whether the damage is caused by the MM itself or the chemotherapy designed to treat your MM…”
“The challenge the newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients face is that their incurable blood cancer causes the same symptoms (bone, kidney, immune damage) that the side effects of the therapies for their incurable blood cancer cause (bone, kidney, immune damage).
In my experience, as the saying goes, the cure is worse than the disease.
Therefore, living with multiple myeloma since early 1994 has given me a low-tech view of the world of multiple myeloma management. I mean that I eat, supplement, and live an evidence-based, non-toxic, anti-MM lifestyle. Supplementing and eating magnesium-rich foods is part of this anti-MM lifestyle…”
