Francie Diep's Archive

Francie completed her bachelor’s degree at UCLA, where she currently teaches genetics and researches genes involved in making blood cells. Her interests include reading, baking, yoga, and exploring cities solo. She joined the Myeloma Beacon as a writer in the summer of 2009. She dedicates her work here to an old friend who finished her chemotherapy regimen this past spring, and who has always prodded Francie into being a better, more generous person, a little at a time.

Francie Diep has written 30 article(s) .

[ by | Sep 2, 2010 3:48 pm | 13 Comments ]
Guide To Nutrition In Multiple Myeloma – Part 2: Supplements

This article is the second in a two-part series about nutrition for multiple myeloma patients. The first article provides an introduction to nutrition for cancer patients as well as tips for getting the right nutrition. This, the second article, describes sources and amounts of nutrients that are important for myeloma patients.

Taking nutritional supplements is common among multiple myeloma patients and other cancer patients. These supplements, including vitamins, …

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[ by | Aug 27, 2010 2:55 pm | One Comment ]
Guide To Nutrition In Multiple Myeloma – Part 1: An Introduction

This article is the first in a two-part series about nutrition for multiple myeloma patients. This article provides an introduction to nutrition for cancer patients as well as tips for getting the right nutrition. The second article describes sources and amounts of nutrients that are important for myeloma patients.

Healthy eating can help people with multiple myeloma heal faster, feel more energetic, respond better to treatment, and protect a …

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[ by | Jul 21, 2010 5:42 pm | Comments Off ]
Research Shows No Difference Between Early And Later Treatment For Smoldering Multiple Myeloma

A research review found that for patients with smoldering, or asymptomatic, multiple myeloma, beginning treatment immediately after diagnosis did not increase life span as compared to holding off treatment until cancer symptoms appeared. The analysis also found that early treatment had no impact on response to treatment, but it did delay progression of the disease.

The results of the article, which was published in the journal Cancer Treatment Review, confirm that people with smoldering multiple myeloma may be able …

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[ by | May 24, 2010 1:19 pm | One Comment ]
Multiple Myeloma, Smoldering Multiple Myeloma, And MGUS May Be Linked To Osteoporosis

People with multiple myeloma and its precursor conditions may be at risk for bone fractures and osteoporosis, found a review published in the journal Joint Bone Spine in March.

For those with multiple myeloma, this increased risk of osteoporosis means higher risk of fractures even in places in the bone that do not have cancerous cells. For those with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), a blood disorder characterized by a high level of monoclonal protein, or those with smoldering multiple …

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[ by | Apr 20, 2010 1:09 pm | Comments Off ]
Brand Name:
Generic Name: dacetuzumab
Code Name: SGN-40
Company: Seattle Genetics Inc.
FDA Clinical Phase: 1

Description

Dacetuzumab is a monoclonal antibody that specifically binds to and works against a molecule called a CD40 receptor, which appears in abnormally high amounts in multiple myeloma cells, as well as in the cells of other blood cancers such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. When dacetuzumab binds …

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[ by | Mar 31, 2010 3:56 pm | Comments Off ]
Study Shows Stable Multiple Myeloma Rates Over The Past 50 Years In Sweden

Multiple myeloma rates have stayed steady among all age ranges over the past 50 years, according to a study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings this month. The research, which tracked multiple myeloma diagnoses among all the residents of Sweden’s third-largest city, Malmo, between 1950 and 2005, contradicts the results of several previously-published studies that found that multiple myeloma rates increased in the 1960s and 1970s.

“The message of the paper is that age-adjusted [risk of developing] myeloma has been stable …

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[ by | Mar 12, 2010 5:18 pm | 2 Comments ]
New Test Helps Predict More Specific Prognoses For Smoldering Myeloma Patients

A diagnostic measure called plasma cell labeling index (PCLI) can help predict the likelihood that someone with smoldering multiple myeloma will eventually get multiple myeloma, wrote researchers in a letter to the editor published in this month’s Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

People with smoldering multiple myeloma have abnormal levels of certain cells and proteins in their blood, but don’t feel the symptoms of multiple myeloma. They are at risk for getting the cancer later.

The amount of plasma cells in a …

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