My mother, 78, started her chemo regimen back in March 2014. By May her levels were decreased significantly. She was taking Velcade, prednisone and melphalan plus the anti-shingle drugs twice a day.
She had a rough go throughout the treatment. Mainly I think because the dosage of prednisone was really high.
By end of July they said that she should stop the Velcade because she was having lots of leg pain. By October they said one more month of prednisone and melphalan. They told her to stop the anti-shingle meds as she was no longer taking the Velcade, which sometimes can cause shingles.
In November they said she was in remission. However, she caught shingles. Awful pain she went through. It's now end of January 2015 and still has some leg pain as well as shingles pain on her body. However, she seems to have her spirit back and is up and about more than I've ever seen her.
I was wondering how long remission lasts and is there supposed to be any maintenance drugs she should be taking? Anything she should avoid in foods?
Thanks.
A daughter who worries about mom
Samira
Forums
2 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Re: How long will remission be & is maintenance recommended?
Hi Samira,
Every multiple myeloma patient is quite different in how they respond to treatment, including how long their remission might last. Honestly, you could be looking at weeks or months for holding the remission, or it could be years. There is just no telling.
Maintenance therapy is a very good topic to discuss with the specialist who is managing your mom's case (or with a second doctor, if your Mom's doctor is not considering it). There is no current consensus in the myeloma medical community on exactly when a patient should have maintenance, nor for how long. But my gut tells me that the majority of multiple myeloma specialists are now recommending some form of maintenance therapy for some period of time to their patients.
Typically, the drugs used for maintenance are one of the IMIDs (like Revlimid) or proteasome inhibitors (like Velcade). Drug combinations / cocktails can also sometimes be prescribed for ongoing maintenance. These drugs are often prescribed at a lower dose during the maintenance phase than what might have been used during the initial treatment phases. Some doctors prescribe one of these drugs at low dose for a year or two, while others are recommending using them indefinitely. Of course, your Mom's reaction to these drugs (and her age and comorbidities) would factor in heavily as to how the doctor might prescribe their use.
Every multiple myeloma patient is quite different in how they respond to treatment, including how long their remission might last. Honestly, you could be looking at weeks or months for holding the remission, or it could be years. There is just no telling.
Maintenance therapy is a very good topic to discuss with the specialist who is managing your mom's case (or with a second doctor, if your Mom's doctor is not considering it). There is no current consensus in the myeloma medical community on exactly when a patient should have maintenance, nor for how long. But my gut tells me that the majority of multiple myeloma specialists are now recommending some form of maintenance therapy for some period of time to their patients.
Typically, the drugs used for maintenance are one of the IMIDs (like Revlimid) or proteasome inhibitors (like Velcade). Drug combinations / cocktails can also sometimes be prescribed for ongoing maintenance. These drugs are often prescribed at a lower dose during the maintenance phase than what might have been used during the initial treatment phases. Some doctors prescribe one of these drugs at low dose for a year or two, while others are recommending using them indefinitely. Of course, your Mom's reaction to these drugs (and her age and comorbidities) would factor in heavily as to how the doctor might prescribe their use.
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Multibilly - Name: Multibilly
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Smoldering, Nov, 2012
2 posts
• Page 1 of 1