[briancharlebois]

bone fracture in left arm stage three

by briancharlebois on Sun Feb 10, 2013 9:58 am

My Dad is in the hospital they found a bone fracture in his left arm. He was diagnosed last year, this time, with stage three multiple myeloma. Any thoughts on what to expect moving forward?

[TerryH]

Re: bone fracture in left arm stage three

by TerryH on Mon Feb 11, 2013 11:16 am

Welcome to the forum, briancharlebois.

Regarding your father's bone fracture, is your concern how long it will take to heal?

Also, what sort of treatment has your father had so far, and is he getting any bone-building medications, like Aredia or Zometa? And how has he responded to his treatment?

[briancharlebois]

Re: bone fracture in left arm stage three

by briancharlebois on Mon Feb 11, 2013 8:05 pm

He is in California, I am in Florida. I fly out next week. Not sure what he is taking to date. He did say they will put him back on Revlimid. They will put a rod in his arm. I guess the question is, When a bone breaks does the cancer leak out to the rest of the body?

[Dr. Ken Shain]

Re: bone fracture in left arm stage three

by Dr. Ken Shain on Tue Feb 12, 2013 11:48 am

Unfortunately, broken bones or fractures are very typical of myeloma. As such, orthopedics and neurougeons (and pain management MDs) are important for the care of many myeloma patients (as I am sure many of the Beacon followers would agree with).

You do not have to worry about the cells leaking out. Myeloma is a systemic disease to begin with in most cases. Generally, orthopedic fixation, followed by at least systemic therapy +/- radiation to the site of the pathologic fracture are in order.

If this is the first sign of relapse or progression for your father's disease (you said he was diagnosed a year ago), I would recommend complete restaging (bone marrow, lab tests, and at least a bone survey) to determine the level of disease and to determine if there are other regions of the skeleton that may be significantly impacted.

[briancharlebois]

Re: bone fracture in left arm stage three

by briancharlebois on Tue Feb 12, 2013 6:11 pm

Thanks for the reply. I will know more when I see him, regarding tests he has had. He tells me there is a great deal of pain. He can't walk. I will be out to see him a week from this Thursday. He is having a pin put in his arm 2/13/2013. He mentioned his big toe is swollen, red and leaking yellow green puss. Whats that?