[newly diagnosed]

Diet & Lifestyle

by newly diagnosed on Fri Mar 26, 2010 2:36 pm

I was wondering if there is anything I can do to help fight my myeloma through diet and lifestyle. Are there certain foods I should be eating or avoiding? Are there certain dietary supplements that I should begin taking? Does exercise or being in good physical condition make any difference?

[Stann]

Re: Diet & Lifestyle

by Stann on Sat Mar 27, 2010 4:55 pm

I do know that you want to be careful about eating certain things that reduce effectiveness of your drug therapies. If you start Velcade, they recommend no supplemental vitamin C and no green tea since it might deactivate the Velcade.

[newly diagnosed]

Re: Diet & Lifestyle

by newly diagnosed on Wed Mar 31, 2010 11:55 am

Thanks Sylvestor for the advice about Velcade. Any advice about how to keep the immune system strong if we're not supposed to take vitamin C?

[Beacon Staff]

Re: Diet & Lifestyle

by Beacon Staff on Mon Apr 05, 2010 11:43 am

Dr. Marthy Lacy from the Mayo Clinic said:

"These are great questions. Unfortunately, there have not been good studies done to answer them regarding myeloma specifically. So far, unlike some other cancers, there is no known dietary link with myeloma.

However, there is abundant evidence that a healthy diet and exercise have beneficial effects on your cardiovascular system and overall health and that can be a huge plus in the battle with multiple myeloma."

[Dr. Bijay Nair]

Re: Diet & Lifestyle

by Dr. Bijay Nair on Tue Apr 06, 2010 2:36 pm

At the present time, there does not appear to be a proven health supplement that can boost the immune system. I recommend to my patients a healthy balanced diet, and activity/ exercise as tolerated. Because of the possibility of an adverse interaction with anti myeloma drugs, I generally discourage my patients from using special vitamin supplements or herbal remedies. 1 tablet of multivitamin daily is advisable.