[Russ1939]

ASCT for 76-year-old multiple myeloma patient?

by Russ1939 on Sun Sep 13, 2015 10:55 am

My wife is 76 years old and has co­mpleted 5 rounds of Revlimid, Velcade, and dex­a­meth­a­sone (RVD) and 3 Zometa shots. She has tolerated all with­out diffi­culty or reactions.

Our oncologist has talked about an outpatient autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT), but we are concerned about threat of infection and difficulty of recovery.

She has no CRAB issues and her M-spike has gone from 3.4 g/dL (34 g/L) to around 1 g/dL (10 g/L).

What experiences have any of you had with ASCT at this age compared to maintenance therapy?

[Lev]

Re: ASCT for 76-year-old multiple myeloma patient?

by Lev on Mon Sep 14, 2015 12:25 am

Good to hear that your wife tolerated the treatment so well.

First:
How was the myeloma found, how severe was it and what did the FISH analysis and other tests indicate?
Plus:
What are the results of the 5 rounds of treatment?
And:
Your wife's general health condition?

Greetings to you and your wife

[suearl]

Re: ASCT for 76-year-old multiple myeloma patient?

by suearl on Tue Sep 15, 2015 7:54 pm

My husband was 79 when he had his SCT in 2012 and is doing well now. He did maintain a 2-year remission but has now relapsed and his disease is being managed with oral chemo.

Older patients need to be closely monitored and must have a very diligent caregiver. Even though my husband got through the transplant, it was not without complications. He had a perforated bowel after the first round of high-dose chemo, which landed him in the hospital for 12 days. He then had to go home and heal for about 2 months.

After the second round of chemo, he developed a pseudomonas bacterial infection that put him back in the hospital for 5 days. Six months after the transplant, he had a thrombosis in his left leg and developed another one about a 6 months later and then had a pulmonary embolism 4 months after that. The doctor inserted a Vena Cava filter to catch future clots. He will probably be on anticoagulants the rest of his life.

Throughout the process, he had trouble with falls, weakness and memory loss and his neuropathy was his biggest complaint. He now has permanent nerve damage that really affects his mobility.

I do not want to sound so negative about this. The good thing that came out of it is that we have had 4 good years and tried to fill each day with meaningful activities.

We thank God for every new day and thank Him for giving us the strength to fight this terrible disease.