[kshornb]

Lupus after multiple myeloma diagnosis & treatment

by kshornb on Sat Apr 29, 2017 3:49 pm

I am hoping there is someone that may be able to help me. After a multiple myeloma diagnosis in 2015, induction therapy, and a stem cell transplant, I have now been diagnosed with lupus.

As far as my myeloma status, I am in a stringent complete response (sCR) since August of 2016 (3 months after my stem cell transplant), and minimal residual disease (MRD) negative. However I never really felt well, was tired, had bone and joint pain and headaches, etc. So after going through repeated myeloma tests (except the bone marrow biopsy; thank goodness) they could not find out why I still felt ill. My oncologist and PCP decided to test me for lupus, and guess what, it was positive.

I have heard that people with lupus can develop multiple myeloma (although it's exceedingly rare), however I have never heard of someone having multiple myeloma and THEN getting lupus.

Is a lupus diagnosis after a multiple myeloma diagnosis and treatment as uncommon as I think it is? How will it affect my myeloma and how I treat it? What else should I be concerned about with this sort of situation?

Thanks for your help,

Kathleen