About to start my chemopherapy for Multiple Myeloma

Going through treatment
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What a shame only two came out in the other response .

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Hi @Mayo57 , the nursing staff are brilliant and really look after you. It’s a worry to go through the Stem cell transplant but looking back on the last few months it’s really ok and does go more quickly than you think for. Take Care of Yourself xx

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Thanks @Lyn99 for taking time out to encourage .

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I have just been Diagnosed with mm i now have pains in my arms pins and needles in my hands and numbness.is this a part of mm if so what can I do all I do now is take pain killers for the pain.

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Good evening @Ray.w and welcome to the forum. I’m glad you’ve found us. It’s a great place to share and to get support.
I’m sorry you are experiencing those symptoms. I’m unable to comment on whether or not this is normal or not but somebody else might be able to share their experiences. Have you had the opportunity to ask your consultant or clinical nurse specialist? I think they’d be the best people to answer your questions.
How are you managing considering you have only just been diagnosed?

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Hi @Ray.w I am so glad that you have found our forum.
Perhaps you need to talk to your GP or whoever diagnosed you about your pains, numbness and pins and needles and see what they say and prescribe.
We are here to support you, there is useful information on the Blood Cancer UK website and their support line details are on the top of these pages if you would like to talk to someone at any time.
Please let us know how you get on. I look forward to hearing more about you and look after yourself.

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I dont have a clinical nurse i have a private consultant through work, he doesn’t really talk. He has sent me for a bone marrow biopsy and a full body scan. He told me there are three stages to myeloma and i am in stage 2. At the moment I am being monitored by having blood taken monthly then I have a 10 minute consultation with the consultant where he tells me nothing has changed then makes another appointment for more bloods for the next meeting. I am doing ok other than the pain in my hips and the pins and needles and pain in my arms with painkillers help. The pain in my hips is mainly when i am laying down so not sleeping to well always getting up. two weeks before I was diagnosed my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer she has had two operations and radiotherapy seems to be doing okay except worrying about me, so our world as been turned upside down at the moment. Thank you for listening.

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Hi @Ray.w with a lot of blood cancers some people might have treatment straight away but others, including me, are on what they call ‘watch and wait’ or ‘active monitoring’ and that seems to be what you are on. Testing can be monthly or at any regular time.
That often means that we have to manage our symptoms.
But as I said before you might want to check it out with your consultant and tell him how it really is for you at the moment.
Please keep posting and look after yourselves.

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I just fill that there is no urgency, I am I making something out of nothing, just at the moment fill lost.I am going to call someone today,thank you

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My goodness, that’s a lot to cope with in your family and yes, it must feel like you’re world has been turned upside down!
You are definitely not making something out of nothing and I’m glad you are going to call somebody today. Please let us know how you get on.

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Hi @Ray.w , sorry to hear that you have been diagnosed with mm and your wife also has a cancer diagnosis. It must feel extremely shocking and overwhelming for you both.

I was diagnosed with mm in October last year and started chemotherapy in the December. I had 8 rounds of chemo + Velcade, (a proteosome inhibitor), and steroids which reduced the cancer in my bones and the abnormal protein in my blood. I was in a lot of pain to start with but this gradually improved as the cancer was attacked and drastically reduced. I didn’t have numbness to start with but the treatment given can cause tingling and numbness. I had a stem cell transplant in August of this year. Not everyone has a transplant, it normally depends on age and health.

Although mm is not currently curable it is very treatable and people can live for many years where the disease is managed very successfully. There is also a great deal of research being carried out in this area so there is a realistic hope that this may become a chronic disease with a functional cure in the not too distant future so this is very encouraging for all newly diagnosed patients.

You should be referred to a haematologist/oncologist at your local hospital once all the test results have been completed. They will be able to talk about treatment options available to you. People with mm have different types of genetic abnormalities and this can take some weeks to establish after the biopsy so maybe this is why not much appears to be happening at the moment? Hope this info helps xx

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Thank you hope all goes well for you.

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You did well @Mayo57 . I had 3 goes at the harvest and still on got half of what they actually wanted. You need 4 million cells for a transplant and they like to collect 8 million so that they’ve got spares if you should need another transplant within 5 years. My cells stubbornly refused to come out and eventually they gave up and said they’d just have to do it with one lot or we’d be there forever!

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