My wife and I returned from a wonderful vacation to Banff, Canada, to her diagnosis two days later. She had complained of back pain on our vacation. She was diagnosed 2 days after we returned. The MRI found 2 compression fractures of her vertebra.
I bought her a remote recliner so she could get up and sit down easily. Two days later, she was getting up and she suddenly screamed in terrible pain. I supported her as I helped her to the chair. We called an ambulance and went to our local hospital, where the CT Scan spotted 4 more compression fractures.
Since then, we've also discovered a broken hip and a fractured arm. Where does it end?
We are now at Emory University, and have undergone 6 radiation treatments and chemo with Velcade. She is still in pain, although it's not as bad as it used to be.
Is there something that can be done to help repair her back? I know about the 2 procedures listed in some of the post below. Can all 6 vertebra be repaired?
Please enlighten me because I am so completely lost.
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John Conner - Name: John W. Conner
- Who do you know with myeloma?: My wife Barbara
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Mid-August, 2013
- Age at diagnosis: 57
Re: New diagnosis, new to the board...
Sorry to hear about your wife.
Yes, you can fix as many vertebraes as you can. Depending on the degree of severity, there are several techniques to fix them. If the vertebrae has not completely collapsed, you can do a fix called kyphoplasty. So the vertebrae will be "ballooned" into its normal shape and filled with a cementitious material resembling the bone. My Dad had this procedure on three of his lumbars, and he could walk pain-free on the next day.
If the vertebrae has completely collapsed, then it is impossible to fix it via kyphoplasty. Usually these collapsed vertebraes are no longer painful. Doctors usually leave them as is, unless it disrupt the nerves. (My Dad has one collapsed lumbar that is never fixed.)
Older females are especially more susceptible to fractures because they have a far greater chance to develop osteoporosis after the menopause... but no worries... a fellow myeloma patient got all of her vertebraes fixed, either with kyphoplasty or a metal pen. She was diagnosed 5 years ago, and at 66 years old, she's still doing great!
Yes, you can fix as many vertebraes as you can. Depending on the degree of severity, there are several techniques to fix them. If the vertebrae has not completely collapsed, you can do a fix called kyphoplasty. So the vertebrae will be "ballooned" into its normal shape and filled with a cementitious material resembling the bone. My Dad had this procedure on three of his lumbars, and he could walk pain-free on the next day.
If the vertebrae has completely collapsed, then it is impossible to fix it via kyphoplasty. Usually these collapsed vertebraes are no longer painful. Doctors usually leave them as is, unless it disrupt the nerves. (My Dad has one collapsed lumbar that is never fixed.)
Older females are especially more susceptible to fractures because they have a far greater chance to develop osteoporosis after the menopause... but no worries... a fellow myeloma patient got all of her vertebraes fixed, either with kyphoplasty or a metal pen. She was diagnosed 5 years ago, and at 66 years old, she's still doing great!
Re: New diagnosis, new to the board...
Many, if not most of us, have at some point during our treatment have been put on a bisphosphonate such as Aredia or Zometa. These drugs work to harden the bones and prevent further fractures and bone lesions.
Ron
Ron
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Ron Harvot - Name: Ron Harvot
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Feb 2009
- Age at diagnosis: 56
Re: New diagnosis, new to the board...
Hi John, I am sorry to hear about your wife's myeloma. This must be an awful ordeal to be going through at this time. As the other people posting in mentioned, there is kyphoplasty, or verteboplasty sometimes used to fill in the collapsed vertebrae with a kind of 'bone cement'. Also, your wife probably has been started on bisphosphonate treatments, either zometa or aredia.
I had a similar situation over four years ago, but am much better now, thanks to the myeloma cancer treatments stopping my myeloma from progressing further, and also the bone building meds.
When I read your post I had a sense of 'deja vu'. In the spring of '09, I was walking up the road that goes up Tunnel Mtn., near the town of Banff. I really was very upset by the persistent low back pain that was only getting worse day by day. Soon after that I also had collapsed vertebrae and had to recover from that.
Last weekend, at a patient education conference here in Calgary, I heard a great speaker from Emory Univ. in Atlanta, Dr. Kaufman. He is an expert on myeloma...I got the impression that Emory is a 'centre of excellence' for treatment of myeloma. Best wishes to both of you and I hope that your wife's health will soon start to improve.
I had a similar situation over four years ago, but am much better now, thanks to the myeloma cancer treatments stopping my myeloma from progressing further, and also the bone building meds.
When I read your post I had a sense of 'deja vu'. In the spring of '09, I was walking up the road that goes up Tunnel Mtn., near the town of Banff. I really was very upset by the persistent low back pain that was only getting worse day by day. Soon after that I also had collapsed vertebrae and had to recover from that.
Last weekend, at a patient education conference here in Calgary, I heard a great speaker from Emory Univ. in Atlanta, Dr. Kaufman. He is an expert on myeloma...I got the impression that Emory is a 'centre of excellence' for treatment of myeloma. Best wishes to both of you and I hope that your wife's health will soon start to improve.
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Nancy Shamanna - Name: Nancy Shamanna
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Self and others too
- When were you/they diagnosed?: July 2009
Re: New diagnosis, new to the board...
Sorry to hear about your wife. I wish you and your wife all the best for a treatment which reduces her pain and discomforts. My husband was diagnosed 2 yrs.ago with same back pain. It took 2 months to conclude that it is multiple myeloma after trials of prednisone, physiotherapy for 2 days, Xray, CT scan, MRI and finally biopsy. He has multiple compression fractures in his back. He was in lot of pain, somedays, it used to take half an hr. to get out of bed in the morning. Still he managed to go to work.
The relief for backpain came once his chemo started, followed by which zometa infusions once a month also started. The chemo reduced the cancer cells keeping them under check and zometa did the job of strengthening the bones and stopped further damage of bones. His backpain was gone after 4 sessions of chemo!
Then he went through tandem transplants as he is in clinical trial. He is on revilimid as a maintainance drug therapy for the past 18 months and still going for once a month zometa and has immunisations at regular timings. He is backpain free now although the multiple compression fractures are still there. He works fulltime, does everyday treadmill for an hr., has added yoga now in his routine, v.discliplined in eating habits.
You are in one of the best places for cancer treatment. Ask lot of questions to the team of doctors, be well informed before meeting the doctors, everything will turn out for better.
Wishing you well...
The relief for backpain came once his chemo started, followed by which zometa infusions once a month also started. The chemo reduced the cancer cells keeping them under check and zometa did the job of strengthening the bones and stopped further damage of bones. His backpain was gone after 4 sessions of chemo!
Then he went through tandem transplants as he is in clinical trial. He is on revilimid as a maintainance drug therapy for the past 18 months and still going for once a month zometa and has immunisations at regular timings. He is backpain free now although the multiple compression fractures are still there. He works fulltime, does everyday treadmill for an hr., has added yoga now in his routine, v.discliplined in eating habits.
You are in one of the best places for cancer treatment. Ask lot of questions to the team of doctors, be well informed before meeting the doctors, everything will turn out for better.
Wishing you well...
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pym - Name: pym
- Who do you know with myeloma?: spouse
- When were you/they diagnosed?: July 2011
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