[Beacon Staff]

Weekly Poll – Smoldering Myeloma And Disease Risk

by Beacon Staff on Wed Oct 10, 2012 11:14 am

This week's poll is about smoldering multiple myeloma patients’ risk of progression to multiple myeloma.

A few clarifications:

First, this question is only for readers who have been diagnosed with smoldering multiple myeloma. If you are a caregiver or family member of someone who has been diagnosed with smoldering myeloma, feel free to answer on their behalf.

Second, if you have been assessed for risk of progression multiple times during the course of your disease (such as at diagnosis and several months or years later), please answer based on your risk evaluation soon after you were diagnosed with smoldering myeloma. Also, if you have already progressed, you are welcome to answer this poll. However, please answer based on the information you were told at your diagnosis, not based on the fact that you have already progressed or the amount of time it took you to progress.

Third, most smoldering myeloma studies only differentiate between high-risk and standard-risk (not high-risk). If your physician classified you as low-risk or intermediate-risk or anything that is not high-risk, please vote for standard-risk.

As always, feel free to post comments, thoughts, or feedback in the space below. They can be very useful to other readers. For instance, please describe what you have been told about your risk of progression. If you have already progressed, please describe whether your time to progression aligned with what you were told at your diagnosis.

We are also running similar polls this week for patients diagnosed with:
Active multiple myeloma:
https://myelomabeacon.org/forum/weekly-poll-multiple-myeloma-and-disease-risk-t1374.html
Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS):
https://myelomabeacon.org/forum/weekly-poll-mgus-and-disease-risk-t1372.html

[SueRI]

Re: Weekly Poll – Smoldering Myeloma And Disease Risk

by SueRI on Wed Oct 10, 2012 7:06 pm

I responded as standard risk primarily because I was not identified as being at high risk. I was, however, told I was at medium risk due to the presence of light chains and some DNA abnormalities. I have not progressed at this point and am now two years post diagnosis. Diagnosis was quite by chance - as I guess is likely the case with many of us.