Let me start out by saying that this is a “dex day” for me, so I’m writing this in the middle of the night.

As we’ve reduced my dose of dexamethasone (Decadron) over time, I don’t awake as early in the night as I used to.  Also, in earlier times, the dex would wake me up, and bing! – I’d be fully awake.  Instantly.

That’s not so any more.  Nowadays, with the lower dose, I’m still tired when the …

The results of a recent Phase 1/2 study suggest that a combination of Velcade and melphalan followed by two back-to-back stem cell transplants is active and well-tolerated in multiple myeloma patients who failed to respond to their initial therapy or who have plasma cell leukemia, a highly aggressive form of myeloma.

Although the response and survival rates for this regimen did not improve upon those for previously tested regimens, the study authors contend that further studies of this novel Velcade-melphalan …

In mid-August 2009, I received the diagnosis that I had been dreading and hoping against hope was not true: multiple myeloma.  I realized later that if my diagnosis had been put off much longer, I could have been much worse off, but at the time, it was still very upsetting. 

My husband Dilip and I started to digest a whole lot of information about multiple myeloma.  I felt like I was in a crash course of cancer education; we went …

The results of a small Spanish study indicate that heavy/light chain ratios may be a prognostic marker for myeloma patients.

Specifically, the Spanish researchers found that multiple myeloma patients who experienced elevated heavy/light chain ratios after achieving complete remission following a stem cell transplant had longer progression-free and overall survival rates than patients who did not experience elevated heavy/light chain ratios.

According to the study investigators, these results show for the first time the association between a heavy/light chain ratio …

In a recently published article, two myeloma experts discussed the role of autologous stem cell transplantation as an initial line of therapy in myeloma patients. The debate centered on the limited evidence supporting stem cell transplants in the context of newer, alternative treatment options.

An autologous stem cell transplant is a procedure in which stem cells are collected from a patient prior to high-dose chemotherapy and later re-infused into the body to replace the cells that were destroyed by chemotherapy. …

On Good Friday, I reflected on just how far my sister and my entire family have come since this day last year.

In 2011, Deana’s day began with a call from her doctor’s office, alerting her to the need to get to the hospital for three units of blood.  Her blood work from the day before showed a hemoglobin level of 6 g/dL.

When I heard how low Deana’s hemoglobin level was, I knew it wasn’t good.  However, it took …

According to a small Italian study, multiple myeloma patients being treated for spinal fractures face a slightly lower risk of cement leakage following kyphoplasty compared to vertebroplasty.

Additionally, the Italian researchers found that several factors, including thicker cement, prior treatment with bone marrow transplantation, and injecting no more than 2 mL of cement regardless of the number of vertebrae being treated, are associated with a lower leakage risk.

Based on these findings, the researchers consider both vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty safe …