Side effects are a multiple myeloma survivor’s per­ma­nent companion.  Oh, they may change from month to month and treat­ment to treat­ment, but one way or an­other, you are forced to deal with them.

Doctors always insist you share any negative side effects (there are posi­tive ones?) with them or their nurse im­me­di­ately.  And early on, your on­col­o­gist may be quick to switch you from one therapy to another in order to avoid serious, de­bil­i­tat­ing side effects like severe skin rashes, crash­ing blood counts, or pe­riph­er­al neu­rop­athy (pain, tingling, or loss of sen­sa­tion …

Except for three months following my stem cell transplant, I have continuously been on some type of chemotherapy for my multiple myeloma for over five years.  The relentless onslaught has caused a wide variety of side effects, some serious and others inconvenient.

I have been on Revlimid (lenalidomide) since soon after my diagnosis. It depresses my white blood cell counts to the point that I have experienced chronic neutropenia a number of times.  It has also aggravated a form of peripheral neuropathy (tingling in my lower extremities that slowly progressed to …

For one day each week, my children have a special nickname for me. It’s Tyrannosaurus Dex!

I suppose that it is fitting that a wise-guy has wise-guy children!  Here’s how I earned this tongue-in-cheek moniker.

Like many multiple myeloma patients, I have a love / hate relationship with the potent corticosteroid, dexamethasone (Decadron), also called dex for short. I love that dex offers positive health benefits to many of us facing a diagnosis of myeloma. Conversely, I hate that dex is also known to cause a wide array of side effects …

A recent report published by a group of multiple myeloma experts in Europe recommends individualized treatment strategies for elderly myeloma patients based on their physical health.

Specifically, the authors suggest that physicians evaluate the age and physical condition of elderly myeloma patients prior to therapy in order to create well-tolerated regimens that would optimize treatment outcomes.

According to Dr. Antonio Palumbo, from the University of Torino in Italy and the lead author of the report, tailored therapies are important for elderly myeloma patients because these patients often cannot tolerate the same treatments …

European myeloma experts recently developed guidelines for the appropriate management of side effects associated with novel agent therapy for older multiple myeloma patients. This article, Part 4 in the series, covers the experts’ recommendations on novel agent use in specific patient populations.

In general, the European experts recommended that older patients with other diseases see a specialist for that specific disease before starting treatment with the novel agents Velcade (bortezomib), thalidomide (Thalomid), and Revlimid (lenalidomide) as well as once treatment has started to assess the impact of treatment on …

European myeloma experts recently developed guidelines for the appropriate management of side effects associated with novel agent therapy for older multiple myeloma patients. This article, Part 3 in a series, summarizes the guidelines for the management of Revlimid-related side effects. Part 1 describes the guidelines for the management of Velcade-related side effects, Part 2 summarizes the guidelines for thalidomide-related side effects, and Part 4 covers the European experts’ recommendations on novel agent use in specific patient populations.

Management Of Revlimid-Related Side Effects

Low Platelet Counts: 

Patients treated with

European myeloma experts recently developed guidelines for the appropriate management of side effects associated with novel agent therapy for older multiple myeloma patients. This article, Part 2 in a series, summarizes the guidelines for the management of thalidomide-related side effects. Part 1 describes the guidelines for the management of Velcade-related side effects, Part 3 summarizes the guidelines for the management of Revlimid-related side effects, and Part 4 summarizes recommendations on novel agent use in specific patient populations.

Management Of Thalidomide-Related Side Effects

Low Platelet Counts: 

Patients treated with thalidomide (Thalomid) commonly …