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.
Long-term use of lenalidomide significantly improves the time myeloma patients stay in remission after initial therapy.
For newly diagnosed myeloma patients the concept of remission is somewhat complicated. First and foremost, any remission, complete, very good, or partial, is the goal. In other words, achieving multiple myeloma remission is the main goal.
Once you have achieved remission, the goal is to achieve the deepest and longest remission possible. The time a myeloma patient remains in remission is called progression-free survival or PFS.
PFS has nothing to do with length of life or overall survival (OS). It points to the amount of time before your myeloma progresses.
The article linked and excerpted below cites an antiangiogenic chemotherapy called lenalidomide (revlimid) administered in relatively low, regular doses after an autologous stem cell transplant as increasing PFS or a lengthening a myeloma patient’s first remission after an ASCT.
I linked the article below because it seems to portray the sentiments of a young, newly diagnosed MMer very well. Sarah, the newly diagnosed MMers is quoted as saying “For patients to get an extra two years remission is fantastic and it’s what every person with the condition hopes for as it means they can get their life back to as normal as possible.”
Keep in mind that Sarah is saying that low-dose, maintenance revlimid has been shown to increase the average MMers first remission, not overall survival. Sarah is young and presumably in excellent physical condition.
I am writing this post to question the idea of a longer PFS or longer time to relapse, with the understanding that many of the people undergoing low-dose maintenance lenalidomide will experience adverse effects. Undergoing toxic chemotherapy day in, day out, takes a toll on the body. Studies show that lenalidomide can cause chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, chemo-brain, fatigue, as well as other side effects.
If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, let me say this loud and clear:
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.
Please watch the video below to learn more about the evidence-based, integrative therapies to combat treatment side effects and enhance your chemotherapy.
Have you been diagnosed with multiple myeloma? What is more important to you- quality of life or quantity aka PFS? Scroll down the page, post a question or comment and I will reply to you ASAP.
“Hope has emerged for patients with a serious type of bone marrow cancer (multiple myeloma) as new research into a therapeutic drug has revealed improved outcomes and survival rates.
In the largest study of its kind, researchers at Newcastle University, UK, have led national research into the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed myeloma.
The results, published online today by The Lancet Oncology, show an improvement for those who received ongoing therapy (low dose maintenance therapy) with a drug called lenalidomide, (revlimid) compared to those not receiving it.
Improved outcomes
Findings of the study identified that long-term therapy with lenalidomide (also known as Revlimid) doubles remission duration and also improves survival in younger patients by almost 8%…
“This is a major breakthrough as it shows that the long-term use of lenalidomide significantly improves the time myeloma patients stay in remission after initial therapy.
“It is a huge step and, importantly, identifies that for younger patients lenalidomide improves their overall survival for this difficult-to-treat bone marrow cancer.
“Our research highlights that lenalidomide should be considered for newly diagnosed patients following stem-cell transplantation.”
Study’s findings
The Myeloma XI seven-year study involved more than 4,000 patients in 110 hospitals in the UK and was funded primarily by Cancer Research UK, with support from Myeloma UK and a number of educational grants.
As part of the study, a total of 1,137 newly diagnosed patients were randomly assigned to lenalidomide maintenance therapy and 834 patients to observation—this was after they completed their initial treatment.
The results show that lenalidomide can prolong the average remission time by more than two years in younger patients and by well over a year in older, less fit patients. It reduced the risk of progression or death by more than 50% in both groups…
The results confirm the findings of three much smaller studies which showed that after stem-cell transplantation, lenalidomide reduces the risk of disease progression or death by 50% compared with placebo or no treatment.
Patient’s story
Mother-of-one Sarah Williamson was given a shock diagnosis of myeloma three years ago.
The 41-year-old had suffered from back and shoulder pain for almost a year but believed it was a running injury and could never have imagined how her life would be turned upside down.
She had attended her doctors’ surgery multiple times, but it was not until a birthday hug from her husband fractured a rib, and she was unable to get out of bed one morning, that the seriousness of her condition became clear.
Hospital scans and tests revealed that she had myeloma and Sarah was put under the care of Professor Graham Jackson at the Freeman Hospital.
She joined the Myeloma XI study and was randomly selected to receive lenalidomide following chemotherapy and a stem-cell transplant.
Sarah, who is married to Richard, 39, and has daughter, Annecy, six, is currently in remission and has no sign of the bone marrow cancer in her body.
The communications executive, from Darlington, said: “It was devastating to be diagnosed with myeloma. I had a young child, my health was in a bad way and I couldn’t imagine feeling well again.
“When I was asked if I wanted to be part of the clinical trial I didn’t hesitate to say ‘yes’ and I was delighted that I was randomly selected to get lenalidomide as I’ve responded very well to the drug.
“For patients to get an extra two years remission is fantastic and it’s what every person with the condition hopes for as it means they can get their life back to as normal as possible.
“I have hardly any side effects of the treatment and all my pain is gone. I feel lenalidomide should be available on the NHS.
“When I meet people who have the condition and are not on the trial I feel a sense of injustice on their behalf as taking this drug has helped me get my life back and I am enjoying it to the full.”
Sarah continues to be monitored by experts and gets regular check-ups and medical tests…”
I was diagnoses 11/2014 at age 65. Tried to beat MM unsuccessfully with all natural treatments and diets. Started treatment (VDT-PACE) at Myeloma Institute 7/2017. ASCT 9/2017. Near complete remission 04/2018. Continue Revlimid 14 days of 28 with Kyprolis + Dexamethasone days 1, 2, 15, 16 for 3 years.
The side effects and collateral damage are terrible. I plan to complete the 3 years of maintenance but QOL is more important than PFS so if MM relapses I don’t plan to go through chemo again. It has been a wonderful life.
Thanks very much for your input. You have replied voting for QOL and two others have replied voting for length of life aka quantity.
Would you mind if I suggest several “integrative” therapies? Meaning therapies that research has shown can enhance the efficacy of a specific chemotherapy while it reduces its toxicity? Your oncologist has prescribed a fair amount of toxicity for an MMer who achieved a near complete remission.
An example would be curcumin for revlimid/lenalidomide.
Curcumin enhances the cytotoxic and chemo-sensitising effects of lenalidomide in human multiple myeloma cells
If you are interested, I will research and provide suggestions for kyprolis and dex. as well.
Husband diagnosed MM 12/2017, SCT 8/2017, Rev 12/2017. 74 years (young). 2 weeks on, one week off. Recent blood test showed no change in cancer cells. I ask him If he would do it all over again, his response was, ” To live another day? YES! “
My husband was on almost constant chemo for 11.5 years. He kept working throughout although he had a lot of pain. When he died we had gotten approval for Darzalex and he had had two doses. He was desperate to continue the drug, side effects or no side effects. He wanted to LIVE.
Surviving MM for 11.5 years is beating the odds by a lot. My guess is that you are saying that length of life, even while undergoing chemo, is the priority.
