[mpion55]

What are my options?

by mpion55 on Tue Oct 22, 2013 1:44 pm

Hello all,

I’m 58 years old and next December will be the two years anniversary of my autologous stem cells transplant. The good news is that I achieved a complete remission and I am now doing well and completely off any meds.

There’s one thing that kind of bother me though. Just a few days before I was scheduled to have my stem cells harvested, I caught a serious infection that required hospitalization and I’m not sure if this was the cause, but they were unable to harvest enough stem cells for two transplants.

Now, I know that I’m not done with multiple myeloma and that I eventually will relapse (not that I’m in a hurry) and since a second auto transplant is out of the question, I’m wondering what my options will be when I do relapse. When I ask my oncologist (I see him every three months for a follow-up) he tries to reassure me by saying there are “lots of options” left, but I’m curious exactly what these “options” are.

Has anyone here been in that situation and can give me an idea what to expect?

Thanks in advance,

[NStewart]

Re: What are my options?

by NStewart on Tue Oct 22, 2013 3:48 pm

Michel-
If you need and decide that you want to go through a 2nd transplant in the future, it isn't necessarily out of the question because you didn't collect enough stem cells for 2 transplants. There has been successful harvesting of stem cells in a number of people who have had previous transplants and extensive treatment.

The other options are based on the new drugs that have been approved by the FDA, pomalidomide and Krypolis, and the other drugs that have been used. There seems to be almost an endless combination of drugs that are being used with fairly good results. In addition there are always clinical trials that you may be eligible for.

My oncologist also told me that there would be plenty of options for treatment when I relapsed at the time that I reacted badly to Revlimid as maintenance after transplant. For me Revlimid 3 years after my transplant has been very effective in bringing my numbers down quickly once I relapsed.

So, there are a lot of options. Hopefully your oncologist is one who is willing to try multiple different treatments as you may need them.
Nancy in Phila

[mpion55]

Re: What are my options?

by mpion55 on Tue Oct 22, 2013 4:54 pm

Hello Nancy,

Thank you for the reply. When I questionned my oncologist about the possibility of a second harvest of my stem cells he told me that he didn't think it would be possible to collect enough from an already transplanted marrow. I plan to ask him again next month when I see him. I'm not sure if the drugs you mentionned have been approved yet up here in Canada. Hopefully I will not need them soon.

Thank you very much Nancy, for taking the time to answer. I really appreciate it.