Arnie’s Rebounding World: The Health Insurance Dilemma
When I stopped working due to my multiple myeloma, my biggest concern was how I was going to maintain my health insurance. Through a deal I negotiated with my partners, I was able to stay on our group...
View ArticleDaratumumab Continues To Show Promise For Relapsed/Refractory Myeloma...
Daratumumab continues to show promise for relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma patients. Results from a Phase 1/2 study indicate that daratumumab may be effective and safe in heavily pretreated...
View ArticlePat’s Place: Five Years Of Chemotherapy Take Their Toll
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...
View ArticleRisk Of Infection Among Multiple Myeloma Patients Is High And Rising (ASH 2012)
Results from a recent retrospective study demonstrate that the risk of infection is significantly higher in multiple myeloma patients compared to the general population. Furthermore, the study...
View ArticleBeacon NewsFlashes – January 14, 2013
HHV-6 Infection May Be Common After Stem Cell Transplantation – Results of a retrospective Israeli study indicate that human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) infection is common in multiple myeloma patients after...
View ArticleBirds In Spring: Random Acts Of Kindness
One of the things that having cancer has exposed me to is random acts of kindness. I first encountered this concept from something the late Princess Diana once said: “Carry out a random act of...
View ArticleDifferent M-Spike After Stem Cell Transplantation Linked To Improved Survival...
Results of a Canadian retrospective analysis indicate that multiple myeloma patients who develop one or more new monoclonal proteins (M-spikes) after stem cell transplantation may have improved...
View ArticleME vs. MM: Two-Year Cancerversary
The end of this month marks my second anniversary since being diagnosed with multiple myeloma. It’s also the end of my induction therapy – a two-year clinical trial with Kyprolis (carfilzomib),...
View ArticleThe Top Myeloma Beacon News Articles Of 2012
Early in 2012, The Myeloma Beacon published its first annual review of the previous year’s most popular news articles. The review described 2011 as a year “filled with important multiple...
View ArticleBeacon NewsFlashes – January 21, 2013
GDC-0941 May Be Active In Multiple Myeloma – Results of a recent preclinical study suggest that the investigational drug GDC-0941, which is being developed by the biotech company Genentech, may have...
View ArticleTrends In The Use Of Stem Cell Transplantation For Multiple Myeloma (ASH 2012)
Findings from a retrospective study of stem cell transplantation among U.S. and Canadian multiple myeloma patients show that the technique has become more common in the past 15 years. In addition, the...
View ArticleMayo, PETHEMA, And The Risk Of Progression In Smoldering Myeloma: More...
Results from a recent study indicate that the two leading models for classifying smoldering myeloma patients based on their risk of disease progression disagree significantly more often than they...
View ArticlePat’s Cracked Cup: Finding Balance In The Multiple Myeloma Journey
One of my favorite sayings is a Chinese proverb that I have previously quoted here, but it is worth mentioning again. “It is easy to get a thousand prescriptions, but hard to get one single remedy.”...
View ArticleThe Top Myeloma Beacon Patient And Caregiver Columns Of 2012
Throughout 2012, multiple myeloma patients and caregivers have continued to graciously share their personal experiences with myeloma in columns they wrote for The Beacon. In the past year, there was a...
View ArticleBeacon NewsFlashes – January 28, 2013
Phase 1 Clinical Trial To Study SST0001 In Advanced Multiple Myeloma Patients – The pharmaceutical company Sigma-Tau has launched a Phase 1 trial of the investigational drug SST0001 in heavily...
View ArticleLetters From Cancerland: How Did I Get Here From There?
The great American writer E.B. White once began an essay, “I am a man of medium height.” Those words echo in my head as I begin this introduction to my new column at The Myeloma Beacon. How do I put on...
View ArticleNovel Myeloma Therapies May Not Hinder Stem Cell Collection
The results of a recent retrospective study show that the use of novel agents for the treatment of multiple myeloma may not have a negative impact on subsequent stem cell collection and...
View ArticleShort-Term Velcade-Based Combination Therapies May Be Effective And Safe For...
Results from a recent, small-scale study conducted at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston suggest that three Velcade-based combination therapies given at lower doses over a short period of time...
View ArticleLong-Term Revlimid-Clarithromycin-Dexamethasone Is Effective And Safe In...
The results of a recent retrospective analysis show that long-term treatment with the combination of Revlimid, clarithromycin (Biaxin), and dexamethasone – commonly abbreviated “BiRd” – is effective...
View ArticleBeacon NewsFlashes – February 4, 2013
SF1126 Shows Promise As A Treatment Option For Myeloma Patients – Findings from a preclinical study suggest that the Semafore Pharmaceuticals’ investigational drug SF1126 may have anti-myeloma activity...
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