Multiple Myeloma Forums - Home

Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2009 15:53 Written by Administrator Tuesday, 14 April 2009 04:49

This site was started to promote communication among the Myeloma community. Whether you're new to Myeloma or a seasoned veteran we encourage you to take a moment to register and engage the community.

This is a friendly community where you can ask or say anything Myeloma related without the fear of being ridiculed or banned. Active members in this community should be able to walk away with a wealth of information and know they are making the best decisions possible.

By sharing information on here we can learn about: The best treatment options, clinical trials, dieting, pain management, doctors, organizations, events, news, and so much more. This community should bring people together from every corner of the world and allow each of you to know what treatment options are offered outside of your country as well.

Knowledge is power!

Andy

If your new to this website please check out the below links first:

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Multiple Myeloma Facts

Last Updated on Saturday, 06 June 2009 18:07 Written by Administrator Sunday, 19 April 2009 17:00

What is Myeloma?

Myeloma, or multiple myeloma, is cancer of a certain type of blood cell called a plasma cell. It begins in the bone marrow, where blood cells are made. Bone marrow is found in the soft, spongy center of certain bones.

In adults, marrow usually is active only in the skull, shoulders, spine, ribs, pelvis and hips. (It’s not active lower in the arms, hands, legs or feet.) Myeloma can affect any bones where marrow is active.

Healthy bone marrow produces the three major types of blood cells our bodies need.

White blood cells fight infection.
Red blood cells carry oxygen.
Platelets make the blood clot and stop bleeding.

Myeloma affects one type of white blood cell, called a plasma cell, that’s part of your immune system. Normally when bacteria or viruses enter your body, white blood cells called B lymphocytes, or B cells, turn into plasma cells to fight these germs. The plasma cells make antibodies to destroy the specific type of infection you have.

Myeloma Stain

In myeloma, plasma cells don’t reproduce normally, and they can’t perform their normal immune duties. The cancerous plasma cells, also called myeloma cells, divide and grow out of control, building up in the marrow and crowding out other healthy blood cells. This can increase your risk of infection, anemia (shortage of oxygen-carrying red blood cells) and blood-clotting problems.

Read full article at publishers website

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Hyperthermia for myeloma survivors

Last Updated on Monday, 08 March 2010 04:23 Written by David Emerson Monday, 22 February 2010 14:46

All,

There have been a few articles published recently about a therapy for managing cancer called hyperthermia. As a mm survivor myself I practice this adjunct therapy but a little differently (Read More) than what the studies discuss- local vs. whole body hyperthermia. As you all know, myeloma is a blood cancer and therefore is not one single tumor. Therefore, I sit in a sauna 2-3 times each week for 30-40 minutes (it has taken me years to get used to this length of time) until my internal body temp reaches 102 F. If any of you have heard of "Coley's Toxins" this therapy is similar in that I am inducing a fever to help weaken any mm cells in my body and boost my immune system.

David Emerson

http://beating-myeloma.org/

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Pesticides Linked to Precancerous Blood Disorder

Last Updated on Wednesday, 09 December 2009 01:59 Written by Administrator Wednesday, 09 December 2009 01:53

Individuals who apply pesticides to crops are twice as likely as the general population to develop a precancerous blood disorder called MGUS (monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance), which can lead to multiple myeloma, according to the results of a study published in Blood.

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the blood that affects the plasma cells, which are an important part of the immune system that produce antibodies to help fight infection and disease. Multiple myeloma is characterized by an excess production of abnormal plasma cells. Symptoms include increased risk of bacterial infections and impaired immune responses. Almost all patients with multiple myeloma experience the plasma disorder MGUS before developing myeloma.

Poison Sign

Previous studies have indicated that pesticides may be associated with an increased risk of multiple myeloma. This more recent study included a cohort of 678 men ages 30-94 from the Agricultural Health Study (which included over 57,000 subjects). The men work as pesticide applicators in North Carolina and Iowa and were enrolled in the study between 1993 and 1997. They provided blood samples that were analyzed for MGUS and then compared with samples from 9,469 men from the general population in Minnesota.

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Onyx drug shows promise in multiple myeloma study

Last Updated on Tuesday, 22 December 2009 22:13 Written by Administrator Wednesday, 09 December 2009 01:46

NEW YORK, Dec 7 (Reuters) - An experimental cancer drug recently acquired by Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc showed promising response rates in patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma, according to interim data from a pair of small mid-stage trials.

The studies, presented on Monday at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in New Orleans, tested carfilzomib given intravenously every 28 days in 73 patients who had not previously been treated with Takeda Pharmaceuticals' Velcade, and in 33 others following treatment with Velcade.

"These interim results suggest that carfilzomib could benefit patients with multiple myeloma who are no longer responding to current therapies," Dr. David Siegel, co-investigator of the studies, said in a statement.

Onyx acquired carfilzomib with its purchase last month of Proteolix Inc, saying the drug for multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, has the potential for accelerated U.S. approval in 2011.

New Velcade®-melphalan Transplant Regimen for Multiple Myeloma

Written by Administrator Wednesday, 09 December 2009 01:38

Researchers from France have reported encouraging results with adding Velcade® (bortezomib) to high-dose melphalan followed by autologus stem cell infusion for initial treatment of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. The details of this Phase II study appeared in an early online publication in Blood on November 2, 2009.

Velcade is the first in a new class of anticancer agents known as proteasome inhibitors and is being evaluated in clinical trials for the treatment of patients with refractory hematologic malignancies, especially multiple myeloma. As a single agent, Velcade has a response rate of approximately 30%, and 4-5% of these responses are complete. A recent study has also shown that Velcade produces a 90% response rate in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

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