[Gdhurst61]

Why would treatment with Velcade be stopped?

by Gdhurst61 on Sat Dec 02, 2017 11:57 pm

My father is 83 and been diagnosed with stage 3 multiple myeloma. He had 10 shots of Velcade. This week is supposed to have been his last? Labs indicated no improvement and a note said remission not achieved? Why would they stop the shots? He is on dex and Revlimid and pain management. He is in what they are calling palliative care. Is this an indication that treatment is not working? An RN told us this would be his last holiday season.

[Arizonan]

Re: Why would treatment with Velcade be stopped?

by Arizonan on Mon Dec 04, 2017 5:06 am

Sorry to hear your father is dealing with this. Velcade is hard on one's system as it drives down some of the blood counts. If it wasn't showing results, then they would have to stop it. My quality of life was much worse when I was taking Velcade.

[Mike F]

Re: Why would treatment with Velcade be stopped?

by Mike F on Mon Dec 04, 2017 5:24 pm

I am sorry to hear this as well. As was stated, if the Velcade wasn't working then they would have to discontinue it. Did they say anything about trying one of the other (many) treatments that are evailable?

[Multibilly]

Re: Why would treatment with Velcade be stopped?

by Multibilly on Mon Dec 04, 2017 6:42 pm

I echo Mike's comments. There are many other potential treatments that are available, including some of the new monoclonal antibody treatments such as Darzalex (which has been tested on the elderly and generally has fewer side effects than Velcade).