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.
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Typical Life of a Myeloma Patient
What is the typical life of a myeloma patient? As you can imagine, there is no average or typical MM patient, or average number of chemotherapy regimens that a MM patient undergoes, because every experience is different.
But it seems to me that a newly diagnosed MM patient may wonder about what he/she will go through over their lifetime as an MM survivor.
I linked the video below because it can give the newly diagnosed MM patient a general sense of the typical life of a myeloma patient.
The Multiple Myeloma Patient Journey
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Transplant-eligible patient
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Transplant-ineligible patient
1. Transplant-Eligible Patient (younger, fit)
Age at diagnosis: 58
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Induction therapy (VRd):
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4–6 cycles (each cycle = ~3–4 weeks).
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Total: ~4–6 months.
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Stem cell collection & Autologous Stem Cell Transplant (ASCT):
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High-dose melphalan + stem cell rescue.
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No “cycles” here, but it’s a major therapy.
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Consolidation (optional in some centers):
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2 additional cycles of VRd or Dara-VRd.
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Maintenance therapy (lenalidomide):
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Taken daily for 21/28 days, indefinitely.
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Many patients tolerate this for years (some 5–10+ years), though dose reductions are common.
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Example total exposure over 10 years:
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~6 induction cycles + 2 consolidation cycles + dozens to hundreds of maintenance “cycles” (since it’s continuous).
2. Transplant-Ineligible Patient (older, frailer)
Age at diagnosis: 74
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First-line therapy (Dara-VRd or Dara-VMP or Dara-Rd):
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Continued for 8–12 cycles initially.
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Then de-escalated to maintenance (often daratumumab alone or lenalidomide alone).
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Maintenance:
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Same as above—until progression or toxicity.
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At relapse:
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May get another regimen such as carfilzomib + dexamethasone ± pomalidomide.
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Continued until progression (could be 6–12 cycles if tolerable).
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Further relapses:
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Additional regimens (selinexor, belantamab, CAR-T, bispecifics).
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Each typically lasts 3–12 cycles depending on toxicity and response.
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Example total exposure over 8 years:
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First-line: ~10 cycles + years of maintenance.
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Second-line: 8 cycles.
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Third-line: 6 cycles.
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Fourth-line (CAR-T or bispecific): given once or continuously depending on approach.
📌 Key Takeaways
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Induction is capped: usually 4–6 cycles in transplant candidates, 8–12 in non-transplant patients.
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Maintenance can be indefinite: some patients have been on lenalidomide >100 cycles.
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Relapse therapies add up: patients often receive 5–7 different regimens across their lifetime, with each lasting anywhere from 3 to 12+ cycles.
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Some long-surviving patients accumulate well over 50–100 cycles across their disease journey.
I am a long-term MM survivor. The only constant that I’ve seen over the past 30-plus years is that MM care is constantly improving. I don’t use the word cure but people are living longer and longer lives with our incurable blood cancer.
Email me at David.PeopleBeatingCancer@gmail.com to learn more about managing MM with both conventional and evidence-based non-conventional therapies.
Good luck,
David Emerson
- MM Survivor
- MM Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Understanding Your Outlook for Multiple Myeloma
Key takeaways
• The overall 5-year survival rate for myeloma, based on data from people who received this diagnosis between 2013 and 2019, is 59.8%.
• Multiple factors affect outlook, including: cancer stage at diagnosis, cancer progression speed, genetic changes in the tumor, blood levels of specific proteins and enzymes, kidney function, age, and overall health.
• While there is no cure for multiple myeloma, treatment can help promote remission that can sometimes last for years, and recent advances in treatment have been steadily improving the outlook for people with this condition…
typical life of a myeloma patient typical life of a myeloma patient typical life of a myeloma patient