The last three months have been extraordinarily varied in quality of life for me, reminding me of the title of an old Clint Eastwood movie, “The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.”

My good days have been delightful. On my bad days, I've been challenged by a virus or stomach issues. And on my ugly days, I’ve been beset by fevers, coughs, and even worse stomach issues.

It might be a bit of an exaggeration to describe the initial few …

The results of a recent French Phase 2 study investigating two Pomalyst (poma­lido­mide) dosing schedules have been published.

The response, survival, and safety data from the study are in line with the results of other Pomalyst trials that have been made public over the past year or two.

In particular, the trial results indicate that the combination of Pomalyst plus low-dose dexamethasone is effective in multiple myeloma patients who have re­lapsed from, or are resistant to treatment with, …

Results from a small Italian Phase 2 clinical trial indicate that Velcade plus dexamethasone, followed by donor lymphocyte infusions, may be an important treatment option for patients who relapse after donor stem cell transplantation.

The findings show that almost two-thirds of the patients responded to the Velcade (bortezomib)-dexamethasone (Decadron) combination, and that donor lymphocyte infusions deepened the responses achieved with Velcade-dexamethasone.

The study investigators also note that side effects associated with the treatment were manageable and expected, considering …

Now that Pomalyst has been approved in the United States as a treatment for multiple myeloma, the drug is available for physicians in the U.S. to prescribe for their patients.

The broad availability of Pomalyst, however, raises the important question: For what types of myeloma patients are physicians likely to prescribe Pomalyst?

Early this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Pomalyst (pomalidomide) for the treatment of certain multiple myeloma patients.  These patients must have received …

Perhaps the title of this column more appropriately should be "Life After CRD," since I've now completed 24 cycles of Kyprolis (carfilzomib), Revlimid (lena­lido­mide), and dexa­metha­sone (Decadron), commonly referred to as CRD, as part of a clinical trial for newly diagnosed patients.

However, since dexa­metha­sone seemed to be the predominate source of my side effects, and be­cause I liked the play on words, I went with the title as shown.

So, I've completed the …

Results of a small Phase 2 study may lead to improved outcomes for newly diagnosed patients who are unable to achieve a deep response with a Revlimid- or thalidomide-based initial therapy.

The study indicates that follow-on treatment with a Velcade-based regimen can noticeably deepen responses in these patients.

“We were certainly pleased to see that we were able to confirm our hypothesis that offering Velcade-containing, non-cross-resistant combinations to patients whose response had stalled after [Revlimid- or thalidomide-] based therapy can …

Multiple myeloma has a garden variety of symptoms, ranging from bone pain to anemia. The various treatments for myeloma come with a broad assortment of side effects, ranging from neuropathy to neutropenia. Let’s face it: there’s a veritable smorgasbord of myeloma symptoms and side effects to sample every day in Cancerland.

My omnipresent symptom is fatigue. It was a bellwether when I was first diagnosed in 2004 and the canary in the mineshaft this summer when I relapsed.

My fatigue …