Results of a small Phase 2 study show that the four-drug combination therapy of Revlimid, Velcade, Doxil, and dexamethasone may be an effective and tolerable treatment option for relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma patients.

According to the study investigators, the four-drug regimen compares favorably to the three-drug combination without Revlimid in that it improves response rates without a significant increase in side effects.

The investigators recommend that future trials further investigate the number and specific types of previous treatments to …

Last week marked the six-year anniversary of my diagnosis of multiple myeloma.  The occasion was marked, not by a celebration, but by a trip to Boston to talk with Dr. Ken Anderson about the next step in my treatment.

The last six years have been filled with ups and downs.

As I am always reminded, myeloma is a very heterogeneous disease and behaves differently for everyone.  Some people seem to have periods of very long responses to treatment and periods …

Last Tuesday, I made my 13^th trip to Pittsburgh since last April when my sister Deana was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. When I think back to my April trip, I am so thankful for how far we have come.

That day last year when I sat on the plane, I was working hard to keep my composure and ready myself for whatever battle we faced.  My limited research upon hearing Deana’s diagnosis had me very worried, and I prayed we …

Many new and promising re­search devel­op­ments oc­curred in the field of mul­ti­ple myeloma during 2011. Over the course of the year, The Myeloma Beacon pub­lished nearly 100 articles on im­por­tant myeloma-related stud­ies.

To identify the most im­por­tant of these stud­ies from 2011, The Myeloma Beacon surveyed lead­ing physicians and re­searchers in the field.  They were asked to name the three peer-reviewed journal articles pub­lished in 2011 and the three conference pre­sen­ta­tions from 2011 that have the most im­por­tant findings or …

You may remember from my first column the strange events going on with me in the spring of 2009 that culminated in a bad fall and back injuries in July of the same year.

We got X-rays taken after the fall that showed four vertebral fractures, one in the upper and three in the lower back. Probably the worst one was from the fall. All were compression fractures, which are seen in cases of osteoporosis. That was the diagnosis …

Results of a small Australian study show that patients with the myeloma precursor diseases monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and smoldering multiple myeloma experienced reduced levels of free light chains while taking curcumin.

Free light chains are proteins in the blood that are known to be linked to myeloma cell activity.

The Australian researchers also found that patients had reduced levels of bone breakdown while taking curcumin.

“A number of the patients in this study did show a …

My plea to healthcare professionals is this: Help patients empower themselves.

The Internet is here, and here to stay. Google, Safari, Yahoo, Bing, Firefox, Internet Explorer, you name it, we are going to turn to the Internet after our doctor’s appointments to look up the things you told us.

When we first receive our myeloma diagnosis, it typically happens during a 20 minute conversation in which we have just been run over by the proverbial bulldozer.  We didn’t hear half …