Hi!
I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in May 2015. I have always spent a lot of time at the barn with my beautiful, gentle horse Mona. We do camping together and ride with all of our friends. I am scheduled for an autologous stem cell transplant in two weeks, after 4 rounds of cyclophosphamide, Velcade, and dexamethasone (CyBorD). I have continued to ride through all of this. Now 2 weeks before my stem cell transplant, I am staying away from the barn (and all of the hay dust / mold) as I don't want tiny bits to be lodged deep in the lung tissue during transplant. I miss my horse life very much!
Question: How long will it be before I can return to this?
I am very active, athletic, and my numbers are very low. I have osteosclerotic myeloma which doesn't present with the typical lytic lesions. I have numerous smaller sclerotic lesions.
Anyone else experience life with barns, hay, horses, etc?
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Re: Stem cell transplants & work around barns and farms
Hi Debbie,
The only thing I would say about your situation is that you should speak in detail with the doctors who will be in charge of your transplant. There are specific problems to do with farming in general, and animals in particular, that can cause very nasty infections whilst our immune systems are practically non-existent.
I certainly wish you well and hope that your transplant will go smoothly, and be successful, and most do.
I am a retired irrigation farmer, largely horticultural, but we did have horses, a few sheep, and a couple of house cows, but had retired over 10 years before I was diagnosed. During the transplant process I became seriously ill with an antibiotic resistant pneumonia which they eventually discovered was caused by a rare soil and water born bug which must have been in my system for many years. It was not able to be identified by the normal processes. I eventually recovered well, but had a rough time and 30 days in hospital.
Not wanting to scare you, just want to be sure that you make your docs aware of your background.
Ronda
The only thing I would say about your situation is that you should speak in detail with the doctors who will be in charge of your transplant. There are specific problems to do with farming in general, and animals in particular, that can cause very nasty infections whilst our immune systems are practically non-existent.
I certainly wish you well and hope that your transplant will go smoothly, and be successful, and most do.
I am a retired irrigation farmer, largely horticultural, but we did have horses, a few sheep, and a couple of house cows, but had retired over 10 years before I was diagnosed. During the transplant process I became seriously ill with an antibiotic resistant pneumonia which they eventually discovered was caused by a rare soil and water born bug which must have been in my system for many years. It was not able to be identified by the normal processes. I eventually recovered well, but had a rough time and 30 days in hospital.
Not wanting to scare you, just want to be sure that you make your docs aware of your background.
Ronda
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RondaV - Name: RondaV
- Who do you know with myeloma?: me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Nov 2011
- Age at diagnosis: 70
Re: Stem cell transplants & work around barns and farms
Hi Debbie,
I would stay away from pesticides on the farm, both during stem cell transplant or otherwise. Extensive exposure to pesticides has been shown to increase a person's risk of developing multiple myeloma.
I would stay away from pesticides on the farm, both during stem cell transplant or otherwise. Extensive exposure to pesticides has been shown to increase a person's risk of developing multiple myeloma.
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Little Monkey - Name: Little Monkey
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Father-stage 1 multiple myeloma
- When were you/they diagnosed?: March/April of 2015
Re: Stem cell transplants & work around barns and farms
Hi Debbie,
I agree totally with Little Monkey. But not only pesticides; fungicides and herbicides (think Vietnam vets and Agent Orange) as well. I don't think it is absolutely proven yet, but I feel very certain that my myeloma was caused by a lifetime of exposure to farm chemicals.
Ronda
I agree totally with Little Monkey. But not only pesticides; fungicides and herbicides (think Vietnam vets and Agent Orange) as well. I don't think it is absolutely proven yet, but I feel very certain that my myeloma was caused by a lifetime of exposure to farm chemicals.
Ronda
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RondaV - Name: RondaV
- Who do you know with myeloma?: me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Nov 2011
- Age at diagnosis: 70
4 posts
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