Jul
My father is 63 and was just diagnosed with multiple myeloma after they found a compressed fracture in his bone after complaining about lower back pain? I’m reading about the cancer and I seem more confused.He's going to be starting “revliment” and he's taking the other chemo type steroid. Overall he's in good health. How far could the disease have spread throught his body? Any personal story on people have gone through this or are going through this right now would be grately appreciated. Also if anyone has suggestions to help him and comfort him. Also any type of questions that I should ask the physicians that would be important in knowing about lab questions etc. would be helpful
Answer:
I will tell you what I know but that is very tiny due to the fact my parents didn't tell me much because I was going through grad school while my Mother was dealing with her Multiple Myeloma. She was diagnosed in 2002. As far as I know, researchers are unsure of the causes and obviously, there’s no cure. The best thing to do is for you father, once recovered from the fracture of course, exercise mildly and take good care of himself. I'm not surprised you are confused by the information as I'm sure my parents were. The more I learn about the disease my Mother had, the more I am confused and fear for the people who either have it or will get it. My Mother also was put on revlimid I think. She was on so many different meds, I can't keep them straight and furthermore, I was living out of say so I wasn't there to keep them straight. My father took care of her and he did the ideal job any of us could. While your father recovers, just help to keep him comfortable. This particular cancer has been called one of the most painful cancers out there so while he's resting, keep lots of pillows around, make sure he's comfortable in bed or while he's sitting, use any sort of padding that will add to his comfort in any way. As far as how much the disease could have spread, that’s a question for the dr's. It can spread anywhere. When I stated for your dad to exercise, I say mildly for a reason. You need to make sure he is very careful when doing things because his bones are going to become very fragile with this cancer. My Mom, in the span of her disease, broke ribs, had hip replacement surgery, and broke both arms so he needs to do some walking but nothing strenuous whatsoever. No heavy lifting, stretching, etc, because his bones are going to be very fragile. Ask the dr. what he can do dietary-wise, to strengthen the bones and maybe some added supplements that would not interfere with the medication that’ll benefit him. Also, check with the dr. when and if he should exercise, do not do that without the dr's okay b/c I am not a dr. You should always check with the dr first. I’m only talking from experience with my Mom. That is all I can think of. While this is a tiny painful for me, I felt compelled to respond. If there is anything else that you would like to ask, e-mail me and I’ll try to answer to the ideal of knowledge. I can't really go to my dad because it is awfully painful for him but if I can sneak questions in there, I’ll try. Good luck and I’ll pray for you and your father. I hope something I said will do some good.
Answer:
It's a cancer of certain cells in the bone marrow.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_my…
The treatments can slow it down, but there (at this moment) are not many people who have been cured. That could change quickly … there are constant trials of new drugs and combos to see if anything works superior.
Answer:
I found some useful information on this disease after surfing it's on:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/multi…
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