I have a cousin (male, age 68) who lives in China and was diagnosed at a hospital in Shanghai as having have multiple myeloma with Durie-Salmon Stage 3A, or ISS Stage 2, plus amyloidosis. My cousin went through chemotherapy and took some medicines (very expensive) as treatment, and then left the hospital and went home to recover.
My cousin's family is wondering whether it makes sense to seek treatment in the United States. Since he has no insurance in the U.S., it will be self-pay for the treatment.
Does it make sense for my cousin to come to the U.S. for treatment at a major myeloma treatment center? Treatment most likely would be in the San Francisco area – for example, the University of California - San Francisco.
Appreciate any feedback or insights. Thanks!
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Re: Is myeloma treatment better in the U.S. than China?
Hello, Evergreen:
Sorry to hear of your cousin's problems. I do not have hard data, and am not familiar with China, specifically. I do recall seeing that there were some preclinical studies coming out of China. However, I do not recall ever seeing that China was a major location for clinical multiple myeloma research. In fact, I recently read that an international team of myeloma researchers went on a training mission to China. So my opinion is that they are plugged in to the broader network of leading myeloma researcher, but probably they are not at the head of the table.
After initial treatment with drugs, the next step (if the patient is fit enough) that is recommended is an autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). For that procedure it is better to go to a hospital that does many of them. For lower volume centers, they are not fully equipped for all the possibilities. If the location in China is high volume, then I would think that would be good.
Also, is your cousin seeing a hematologist-oncologist that specializes in multiple myeloma? I would first try and see if you could find a specialist locally. If your cousin opts to come to the U.S., then of course there is cost. If he does not have insurance in the U.S., then I think the annual price tag of treating a patient is north of $150,000.
Good luck to you.
Sorry to hear of your cousin's problems. I do not have hard data, and am not familiar with China, specifically. I do recall seeing that there were some preclinical studies coming out of China. However, I do not recall ever seeing that China was a major location for clinical multiple myeloma research. In fact, I recently read that an international team of myeloma researchers went on a training mission to China. So my opinion is that they are plugged in to the broader network of leading myeloma researcher, but probably they are not at the head of the table.
After initial treatment with drugs, the next step (if the patient is fit enough) that is recommended is an autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). For that procedure it is better to go to a hospital that does many of them. For lower volume centers, they are not fully equipped for all the possibilities. If the location in China is high volume, then I would think that would be good.
Also, is your cousin seeing a hematologist-oncologist that specializes in multiple myeloma? I would first try and see if you could find a specialist locally. If your cousin opts to come to the U.S., then of course there is cost. If he does not have insurance in the U.S., then I think the annual price tag of treating a patient is north of $150,000.
Good luck to you.
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JPC - Name: JPC
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