Multiple Myeloma

Life Expectancy of Newly diagnosed Multiple Myeloma patient:

My family’s experience

Whenever a person, who in most instance otherwise looks healthy, diagnosed Multiple Myeloma, the first fearful question comes to mind is how long he/she will survive. Same question also came in my Brother’s mind who was just 48 when he was diagnosed for Multiple Myeloma. He was just having low backache, no other symptoms.

I sat by his side and he asked me: Bhaiya (Brother), everything is finished? As the articles on internet he read showed that he would not survive for more than 9 months. It was painful for both of us but being a doctor, I assured him that don’t go on what is written on net and we will fight and I will not let him go.

He was thoroughly investigated and the treatment started under the guidance of one of the finest Oncologist for Multiple Myeloma at AIIMS, Delhi. First chemotherapy and later autologous Stem Cell transplant, everything was going as planned. My brother was obese, moderate alcoholic and occasional smoker. He stopped these intoxications and started light exercise to reduce weight. He stuck to a healthy diet as prescribed to him.

Later, the symptoms gradually started subsiding, Hb% improving and so was other parameters. Every one of us including my brother started feeling relaxed, though we know that there will be relapse someday. We all forgot that the literature says life expectancy in current situation is 3 to 5 years. Gradually his daily routine started to what it was before the disease including diet, exercise and other habits.

Do we have to relax at this stage?

I still curse myself that being a doctor; it was my responsibility to tell my brother (who was not a medical professional) that the disease is still there in his body and that we cannot afford to relax. It was my duty to realize him that on first occasion his body able to bear the brunt of disease but next time when there will be relapse, the same body might not be in a stage to bear the injury. So this should be the time when we should be more focused to prepare a body system which is much fitter.

Since there is no cure of Multiple Myeloma till date, we should accept that the disease will take its own course. There may be complete remission followed by early or delayed relapse. We should be more focused especially in remission phase on how we can prepare our body to fight the relapse.

            If the patient has to live longer, if he has to erase the 3 years survival destiny, he has to continue all those instruction more stringently during remission phase, which was advised to him when he was first diagnosed the disease. Few of these are:

1.     No Alcohol: Better would be no addiction including smoking, chewing tobacco or Gutkha besides forgetting alcohol.

2.     No Obesity: Gradual but continuous reducing the weight with balanced diet and continuous exercise. It would be better if the patient do exercise under medical supervision as he has weak bones which are more prone to get damaged. The exercise should gradually be increased over a period.

3.     Strict diet Plan: A healthy diet keeping more of fruits, vegetables, proteins and less of carbohydrates, sugar, packed / processed foods.

4.     Develop Muscle Mass: I believe that the patient should gradually develop his/her muscles, especially of extremities / weight bearing areas.

5.     No shortcut treatment: There are many advertisements in which it is claimed that they can cure the patient. You may get many such examples. But believe me, all of them are fake and I am telling you from my personal experience.

Lastly, just leave the medical part on physician treating you but much more important is how you prepare your body against the disease.

Warning: The purpose of this article is to create awareness for the disease mentioned above. The reader of this article should exercise all precautions before following any information provided above and it is advised that you consult your own physician or other medical professional. The responsibility lies solely with the reader and not with the site or the writer.