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.
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Multiple Myeloma Treatment Guidelines- End-stage or Cure?
My multiple myeloma treatment guidelines are different from conventional or traditional multiple myeloma treatment guidelines. Let me explain how and why…
I can’t guarantee a cure of your multiple myeloma (MM). No one can. Multiple myeloma is often a complicated, aggressive blood cancer. However, I can explain those therapies that I have undergone since my diagnosis in 2/1994. My 25 + years of survival compared to the average 5-7 year survival of conventional (FDA approved) therapies may cause you to wonder how my multiple myeloma treatment guidelines compare to conventional oncology’s treatment guidelines.
Keep in mind that I am the first person to acknowledge that MM patients should utilize if necessary:
- conventional diagnostic testing,
- conventional therapies (chemo/radiation/surgery) and
- conventional oncology in general.
The e-medicine article linked below called “Multiple Myeloma Guidelines” is a complete listing of everything a newly diagnosed MM patient would ever need to know about his/her MM treatment…and then some. For the record, the article linked below is a complete guide to conventional, FDA approved MM therapy.
In general, my issue with e-medicine’s MM Guidelines is that it, like FDA approved MM therapies, is too much. Not too much diagnostic testing but too much therapy. Too much chemotherapy is too much toxicity. Too much toxicity usually leads to short, long-term and late stage side effects. Side effects that can kill MM patients and survivors.
If more chemotherapy was better for MM patients and survivors I’d be all for more chemo. But more chemo is not better for MM patients and survivors.
Let me be specific.
- According to research, autologous stem cell transplantation does not lead to, on average, longer overall survival (PFS or remission not length of life).
- According to research, autologous stem cell transplantation makes no difference if it is sooner or later (“Several retrospective trials failed to demonstrate benefits in OS when comparing early to late HDT/ASCT”)
- E-medicine’s Multiple Myeloma guidelines say nothing about evidence-based integrative or complementary therapies.
- E-medicine’s MM guidelines say nothing about the many evidence-based, non-toxic bone strengthening therapies.
The treatment guidelines that I have followed since my original diagnosis in early 1994 has included:
- Nutritional Supplementation
- Antiangiogenic Foods
- Mind-body Therapies
- Detoxification Therapies and
- Bone Health Therapies
- Complementary Therapies
All MM treatment guidelines based on dozens of studies. I do what I do not because I was told about some herb or nutritional supplement by a friend of a friend but I do it because studies tell me that the therapy is cytotoxic to MM.
Coaching myeloma patients, survivors and caregivers since 2004 has taught me that the challenge you face is not knowing that conventional therapies cannot cure you. The challenge faced by the newly diagnosed myeloma patient is sitting in front of your smart, well-trained conventional oncologist trying to explain to him or her that their life’s work is ineffective at best, dangerous at its worst.
My point is that, trust me here, you will have difficulty taking control of your MM health care and telling your oncologist to deviate from the FDA approved, multiple myeloma treatment guidelines.
The only possible solution I can offer for what I call “oncologist intimidation” is to offer to come to your appoints with you. And acknowledging that this solution is impractical/impossible, I have to be satisfied with providing you my multiple myeloma treatment guidelines and letting you figure out the rest of it.
Scroll down the page, post a question or a comment if you would like to learn more about evidence-based conventional and non-conventional treatments.
In the meantime, hang in there.
David Emerson
- MM Survivor
- MM Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Recommended Reading:
- Your Diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma- A How-To Guide
- The Case for Mind-Body Therapy in Multiple Myeloma Therapy
- Multiple Myeloma- Newly Diagnosed Without Intent to ASCT
Multiple Myeloma Guidelines
Guidelines Summary
Diagnostic criteria-
Myeloma-defining events include the following [2] :
-
Serum calcium level >0.25 mmol/L (>1 mg/dL) higher than the upper limit of normal or >2.75 mmol/L (>11 mg/dL)
-
Renal insufficiency (creatinine >2 mg/dL [>177 μmol/L] or creatinine clearance < 40 mL/min)
-
Anemia (hemoglobin < 10 g/dL or hemoglobin >2 g/dL below the lower limit of normal)
-
One or more osteolytic bone lesions on skeletal radiography, CT, or PET-CT
-
Clonal bone marrow plasma cells ≥60%
-
Abnormal serum free light chain (FLC) ratio ≥100 (involved kappa) or < 0.01 (involved lambda)
-
One or more focal >5 mm lesions on MRI scans
Staging
Treatment
-
A single autologous stem cell transplant is the preferred approach in transplant-eligible patients
-
A second (tandem) autologous stem cell transplant is recommended for patients who relapse more than 12 mo after the first transplant
Management of Multiple Myeloma–related Bone Disease
Management of Complications
Medication Summary
Chemotherapeutic Agents
- Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan, Neosar)
- Melphalan (Alkeran)
- Doxorubicin (Adriamycin, Rubex)
- Doxorubicin liposomal (Doxil)
- Vincristine (Oncovin)
- Bortezomib (Velcade)
- Carfilzomib (Kyprolis)
- Ixazomib (Ninlaro)
- Panobinostat (Farydak)
Corticosteroids
Prednisone (Deltasone, Orasone, Meticorten)
Dexamethasone (Decadron)
Dexamethasone is part of many treatment regimens for multiple myeloma. Dexamethasone stabilizes lysosomal membranes and suppresses lymphocyte and antibody production.
Monoclonal Antibodies
Denosumab (Xgeva)
Daratumumab (Darzalex)
Elotuzumab (Empliciti)
Interferons
Interferon alfa-2B (Intron A)
Immunosuppressant Agents
- Thalidomide (Thalomid)
- Lenalidomide (Revlimid)
- Pomalidomide (Pomalyst)
Selective Inhibitor of Nuclear Export
Selinexor (Xpovio)
Bisphosphonates
- Pamidronate (Aredia)
- Zoledronic acid (Zometa)
Colony-stimulating Factors
Epoetin alfa, erythropoietin (Epogen, Procrit)
Erythropoietin is a naturally occurring hormone produced by the kidneys to stimulate bone marrow production of red blood cells. In patients with MM, administration of exogenous erythropoietin may correct anemia, leading to a significant improvement in performance status and quality of life.