The Website You Need to Know

For those of us with MM in whatever stage, your number one website for up-to-date info and resources is International Myeloma Foundation.

My chapter in Mpls recently sent out info on a webinar that they held, and I will include a link to the slide show deck for you to view, but I am told it is also on the website.

In today’s COVID-19 climate, we all need to be extra careful and follow the guidelines of HEALTH PROFESSIONALS and not politicians. Do what is best for you and your family based on your diagnosis, that is the number one priority.

Stay safe out there, we all are relying on you to do so!

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COVID-19 and the MM Community

It has been a very long time since I last posted, but now is a great time to share some info for those of us on the MM journey and how to protect ourselves and stay up on the COVID-19 threat.

Please follow the link and stay safe out there everyone.

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The coronavirus is on the minds of global citizens and all myeloma patients. Dr. Joshua Richter shares an incredible amount of information for myeloma patients to navigate their care in these uncertain times. He shares drugs patients may want to ask their doctors about, considerations for stem cell transplant, the status of some myeloma clinical trials, tradeoffs of using IVIG, and potential therapies being used to treat the coronavirus. This is a must-read show to learn how the coronavirus is affecting myeloma patients and how they can be prepared.

READ IT ALL HERE >>

Hello 58…I’m Still Here

As another year comes and goes, having a diagnosis of Smoldering Multiple Myeloma makes it a bit challenging as you don’t know whether to be happy that you are a year older or that your cancer has not started acting up.

Wow, that is a depressing sentence.

To be true, after almost three years since my doctor told me what was up, I have settled into the routine of “life as normal” since my cancer has remained in the same state… active but not aggressive.

I can say that I don’t think about it day in and day out unless I read something about Myeloma or my three month blood work notice comes up in iCal.  I have learned to live with it and am not letting it dominate my thought process.

That’s not to say that sometimes I get hit with a wave of “Oh my God, I have cancer”, cuz I do, but not very often.

At the end of the day, I know what I have so that is power, I have support of doctors and family who are cheering me on every day, and I have done all that I can do to be a healthy person with or without cancer.  Really, that is all any of us can do.

So, there it is.  Another year living with a cancer diagnosis.  Another year of maybe this year, but also another year of live as normal or as normal as can be.  That is pretty good and if 59 comes the same way, I will consider that a win and just copy and paste this post then.

Hugs to all,

c

Proteasome Inhibitors for Multiple Myeloma Treatment

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Proteasome inhibitors are a group of drugs that are mostly used in treatment of multiple myeloma. I think that brings an interesting concept to the field of cardio-oncology where we tend to focus a lot on the diagnosis of cardiotoxicity.

It’s important to mention that multiple myeloma patients tend to be patients with a lot of pre-existing cardiovascular risk factors. Today, screening for cardiovascular function or cardiac function informs whether doing an echocardiogram to assess left ventricular ejection fraction is or is not indicated for those receiving either bortezomib or carfilzomib, which are the two most commonly used proteasome inhibitors.

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