I'm involved in a number of online forums for the discussion of Myeloma (including some other blogs) and there is occasional a zesty debate about whether or not the disease is curable.
I have noticed, in the four plus years since my diagnosis, a growing number of doctors saying that the disease is being cured in some cases. Of course BB's contention that the majority of newly-diagnosed cases can be cured is still an outlier, but it's increasingly less so (is that an oxymoron, or just poorly-written?) these days.
In one online exchange, a patient named Reed Whitener posted a reference to "his story" at the cancer center where he was treated. Since his name is featured on the web page, I hope I can reproduce it here without offense.
At any rate, the website uses the "cure" word -- albeit in quotes. Something to think about. I've not hear of the Massey Cancer Center and I'm not even sure what their protocol is, although it looks like tandem transplants, which has been the centerpiece of BB's protocol for 20 years.
Here's "Reed's Story" at the VCU website. That's Virginia Commonwealth University, not Vet Care Unlimited! :)
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100 days in the hospital. Does that suggest he had a auto/allo transplant?
ReplyDeleteJ, if I had to guess, they probably hospitalized him for each transplant for 21 days (this is the standard of care most places) and possibly for his induction (add another 14 days). They do indicate that he had a number of surgeries and had to fight off infections so it's pretty easy to see that the number could come up.
ReplyDeleteI was hospitalized only once -- because of my broken vertebrae -- but since I had no immune system at that time due to the administration of chemo, they couldn't do the simple procedure required to fix my back until the immune system had recovered. I was in the hospital for 18 days. So these things can add up! :)