She was treated with: V.A.D + steroid+ radiation spinal column )D2 after that she got Thalidomide + steroid for 5 years and aredia for 3 years. She suffers from neuropathy. Osteoporosis and Hypothyroidism. After that remission for 5 years. Last month they did blood test & CT pet and found that multiple myeloma is relapsed. She must start treatment immediately. The want to give her Velcade injections in two weeks – 4 injections. I would like your advise:
1. do you think Velcade is the right one for her?
We heard there are new treatments: Kyprolis, Carfilzomibe do you have any idea what we need to ask the doctors?
What are the side efect?
2. any one has a similar story that can tell us some tips?
Hi , sorry to hear about your mom, I have not been through what she has but I do know about Velcade . Velcade is a good drug and a proven treatment for MM, it does have side effects one of those is neuropathy, it has set the treatment standard for MM for quite some time. I have been on it + dexamethasone and revlimid for a year as a maintenance therapy after a stem cell transplant. They have just recently taken me off velcade and reduced the amount of revlimid and dexamethasone. I would question the doctors concerning the newest treatments, however you may want to keep them in the arsenal for future needs.
I had received velcade for over a year before the transplant with few side effects, however we are all different and MM is unique to each of us. I had 2 shots a week for about 24 weeks so 4 shots is not a heavy dose, dex and revlimid are both in pill form and often given with velcade. Just an fyi. 2.5 years after diagnosis, lots of shots and pills, stem cell transplant and I still am not in 100% remission, close but still not there. Do a search for the myeloma beacon, there is a mass of information including the newest treatment standards and the latest articles on all the treatments and studies. From what I can tell quite often it takes a combination of therapies to achieve the best response even with the newest drugs
Good Luck and take care of mom, I lost mine many years ago and still miss them.
Hi , sorry to hear about your mom, I have not been through what she has but I do know about Velcade . Velcade is a good drug and a proven treatment for MM, it does have side effects one of those is neuropathy, it has set the treatment standard for MM for quite some time. I have been on it + dexamethasone and revlimid for a year as a maintenance therapy after a stem cell transplant. They have just recently taken me off velcade and reduced the amount of revlimid and dexamethasone. I would question the doctors concerning the newest treatments, however you may want to keep them in the arsenal for future needs.
I had received velcade for over a year before the transplant with few side effects, however we are all different and MM is unique to each of us. I had 2 shots a week for about 24 weeks so 4 shots is not a heavy dose, dex and revlimid are both in pill form and often given with velcade. Just an fyi. 2.5 years after diagnosis, lots of shots and pills, stem cell transplant and I still am not in 100% remission, close but still not there. Do a search for the myeloma beacon, there is a mass of information including the newest treatment standards and the latest articles on all the treatments and studies. From what I can tell quite often it takes a combination of therapies to achieve the best response even with the newest drugs
Good Luck and take care of mom, I lost mine many years ago and still miss them.