I'm a 61-year old man living in upstate New York.
After breaking 3 vertebrae 18 months ago and not seeing a total recovery from this, I finally received a Stage 3 multiple myeloma diagnosis in April of 2018. My oncologist rapidly put me on Revlimid, Velcade, and dexamethasone.
As of this writing, mid-June 2018, he is referring me to a stem cell replacement specialist to discuss a potential stem cell transplant.
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Re: Greetings from a 61-year-old man in upstate New York
Welcome to the forum, Malcomtent (but I'm sorry you have to be here).
Regarding your potential stem cell transplant, you can find links to a lot of threads discussing transplants, including transplant experiences that other forum members have shared, by going to the "Useful links to existing forum discussions" post which is always at the top of the Treatments & Side Effects section of the forum. The list of discussions with individual transplant experiences is at the bottom of the post (but don't ignore the transplant-related links earlier in the post).
When to have an autologous stem cell transplant is a subject of some controversy in the myeloma profession. Many myeloma specialists recommend that transplants be carried out as part of the initial therapy patients get after their diagnosis, and this is standard practice for "transplant-eligible" patients in most other countries in the world. Some U.S. specialists, however, are less insistent on their patients doing a transplant as part of upfront therapy. Almost all specialists, however, recommend that their patients do a transplant at some point (but I did say "almost"; there are a few specialists who can be described as "anti-transplant".)
Given that there is some controversy as to the optimal timing of a stem cell transplant for myeloma, I'd suggest that the decision be one that you finalize after further research and discussions with your doctors. In the past, open-ended discussions about the subject here in the forum have gotten heated and unconstructive, which is why we prefer that such discussions be in regard to specific studies rather than the general topic (or even a patient's specific case, where the patient's doctors really have the best perspective).
Regarding your potential stem cell transplant, you can find links to a lot of threads discussing transplants, including transplant experiences that other forum members have shared, by going to the "Useful links to existing forum discussions" post which is always at the top of the Treatments & Side Effects section of the forum. The list of discussions with individual transplant experiences is at the bottom of the post (but don't ignore the transplant-related links earlier in the post).
When to have an autologous stem cell transplant is a subject of some controversy in the myeloma profession. Many myeloma specialists recommend that transplants be carried out as part of the initial therapy patients get after their diagnosis, and this is standard practice for "transplant-eligible" patients in most other countries in the world. Some U.S. specialists, however, are less insistent on their patients doing a transplant as part of upfront therapy. Almost all specialists, however, recommend that their patients do a transplant at some point (but I did say "almost"; there are a few specialists who can be described as "anti-transplant".)
Given that there is some controversy as to the optimal timing of a stem cell transplant for myeloma, I'd suggest that the decision be one that you finalize after further research and discussions with your doctors. In the past, open-ended discussions about the subject here in the forum have gotten heated and unconstructive, which is why we prefer that such discussions be in regard to specific studies rather than the general topic (or even a patient's specific case, where the patient's doctors really have the best perspective).
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Boris Simkovich - Name: Boris Simkovich
Founder
The Myeloma Beacon
2 posts
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