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- What is the Life Expectancy of a Person w/ Multiple Myeloma?
What is the Life Expectancy of a Person w/ Multiple Myeloma?
How long will someone live with Multiple Myeloma. Or, to put it another way, what is the life expectancy of a person with multiple myeloma?
Hi David- My Dad has lived with Multiple Myeloma for the past 17 years. Considering the life expectancy of a person with MM is 5-7 years, I’d say my dad has done well.
Here’s the problem. We have just been told there is no more treatment out there for him. He had a stem cell 15 years ago, has received various chemotherapy regimens including:
- velcade,
- thalidomide
- and many others.
18 years ago he started on immunotherapy called Daratumumab aka darzelex and it took his sight. My dad was completely blind within 8 months of taking it, literally in the dark.
The hospital said it was not the immunotherapy, but we knew it was darzalex that was taking my dad’s eye sight because each time he was treated with it, he lost more and more sight.
He came off the immunology, as he wanted to see. He was off it for 16 months and his sight has come back to about 80%. He then recently went on to another treatment, but his body could not take it and our news was devastating, that there is no more treatment out there.
Do you have any ideas for other therapy options? Thanks, Linda.
Hi Linda,
When your dad’s oncologist told him that there were no more treatments out there for you dad they meant no other conventional (FDA approved) therapies out there. I was told the same thing in September of 1995.
Let me go on record as saying that there is a long and growing list of conventional FDA approved MM therapies. More importantly, it sounds like your dad has outlasted the MM averages by more than 10 years. Well done.
Further, it is no surprise to me that your dad is worn out after undergoing 17 years of toxic chemotherapy.
In my mind, the therapies available to your dad are “integrative” therapies. By integrative, I mean that evidence-based but non-conventional therapies such as curcumin, for instance, combine with a low-dose of a therapy that you dad may have already done, for example Velcade (Bortezomib). Research has shown that the curcumin enhances the efficacy of Velcade as well as sensitizes the MM to the Velcade, making the integrative combination effective.
I will link the MM CC integrative therapies guide below. Look it over in order to get the idea of what I’m talking about.
The only other therapy opinion that you should consider are unusual combinations of chemotherapy regimens.
Please see the studies linked below.
The bottom line is that you and your dad will have to think and act outside the conventional MM box from now on.
- How long has it been since your dad underwent Carfilzomib aka kyprolis?
- How long has it been since your dad underwent Velcade?
- How long has it been since your dad underwent Revlimid?
Let me know if you have any questions.
David Emerson
- MM Survivor
- MM Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Recommended Reading:
- Multiple Myeloma Relapse After Autologous Stem Cell Transplant- My 65 year old Dad…
- DCA enhances Velcade in Multiple Myeloma
- Long-Term Multiple Myeloma Survival- The Keys To Success-
Baking Soda, Curcumin, Doxorubicin as Integrative Multiple Myeloma Therapy
“This study clearly shows that curcumin nanoparticles could deliver DOX efficiently…Surprisingly, extracellular alkalization induced a 2- to 3-fold increase in the efficacy of doxorubicin…”
Before I get to the issue discussed in the subject line “Baking Soda, Curcumin, Doxorubicin as integrative multiple myeloma therapy,” I have to establish several key issues. I’ve linked four studies below. I have to explain the importance of these studies…
According to the studies linked and excerpted below:
- Doxorubicin (adriamycin) is cytotoxic to multiple myeloma. Doxorubicin as a Multiple Myeloma therapy is toxic and can cause the patient significant side effects. I’ll address that issue below-
- Curcumin is also cytotoxic to multiple myeloma-
- Curcumin integrates with, synergizes with doxorubicin-
- Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate) has been shown to reduce the acidity in MM patients-
- Baking Soda has been shown to enhance the efficacy of Doxorubicin as chemotherapy agent…”
Multiple Myeloma Chemotherapy- Arsenic trioxide/ Velcade/ Vit. C/ Dex. Intro?
“Compared to bortezomib/dexamethasone (BD) regimen, arsenic trioxide/bortezomib/ascorbic acid/dexamethasone (ABCD) regimen significantly improved PFS and OS in newly diagnosed patients.”
If you’ve been diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM) and you’re considering what MM chemotherapy to do first (induction therapy), please focus on the words “significantly improved PFS and OS in newly diagnosed patients.” According to the study linked below ABCD out-performs BD as induction therapy for newly diagnosed MM patients.
Let me explain.
The three most important aspects of the study below and therefore of ABCD induction therapy is:
- ABCD therapy worked well for “high-risk” MM patients-
- ABCD therapy worked well for MM patients who where diagnosed at a more advanced stage (II oe III)-
- ABCD therapy saw almost 75% of patients achieve very good partial remission (VGPR) or better. This means that patients undergo an induction therapy that is tolerable while at the same time, the MM patients experience a significant response…”