Aug 16, 2010
Posted by Beth on Aug 16, 2010 in Cancer, Myeloma, Myeloma Treatment | 3 comments
A reader just told me about this. How cool! I’m going to go vote for the “Myeloma Survivor” right now! You can vote every 24 hours.
http://www.sponsafier.com/#/gallery/view/367247
I thought you may be interested to know that the International Myeloma Foundation has entered a Toyota racecar design in a contest called Sponsafier. The winning entry will be built as a full sized car, and your votes can help push myeloma awareness across the finish line.
The idea and the car design come from a myeloma patient in Normal, Illinois. Keith May has covered the car with slogans to raise awareness of myeloma, and the work being done to beat it. The IMF has named the car “The survivor.”
“Survivor” is one of several hundred entries in the Sponsafier contest. Some entries are just artistic designs and some like Keith’s support a cause. For the next 12 days, please log onto nascar.myeloma.org to vote for Keith’s design. Please also ask your friends, families and colleagues to vote too.
This is a great opportunity to educate a new audience about myeloma and blood cancers, the advances that have been made in treatment and the challenges that lie ahead.
Aug 6, 2010
Posted by Beth on Aug 6, 2010 in Cancer, Myeloma | 2 comments
Paula just added an interesting post here:
http://feresaknit.wordpress.com/2010/08/04/whys-africa-not-red/
Our toxic environments have a lot to do with why we got myeloma. (see http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090813142148.htm)
From the maps linked in Paula’s blog, you can see that the industrialized countries have more MM in their populations.
There’s some information to be found on myeloma cancer clusters by googling:
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=meyloma+cancer+clusters&aq=f&aqi=m1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=ea2cd8eab02d18af
I’ve been really lazy about posting these days. There’s a lot going on.
May 3, 2010
Posted by Beth on May 3, 2010 in Cancer, Health News, Life, Myeloma, Myeloma Blogs, Myeloma Treatment | 1 comment
MyelomaBlogs.org, a blog feed aggregator for patient and caregiver myeloma blogs, has been revamped. It’s all new, thanks to our good friend, Lopo Lencastre de Almeida of iPublicis.
The site has a new look and will allow you to read a short excerpt of posts, search posts and browse by tags. You can also help spread the word by sharing blogs posts on many social networking sites.
You’ll see what I mean. Head on over to http://www.myelomablogs.org/.
Mar 6, 2010
Posted by Beth on Mar 6, 2010 in Cancer, Myeloma, Myeloma Treatment, Neuropathy, Revlimid, Thalomid, Velcade | 8 comments
I started to get some neuropathy just a few months into my first treatment, which was Thalomid. I knew it was a possibility, but I’m hopelessly optimistic, and assumed it wouldn’t happen to me. I quit taking thalidomide within 8 months, because I didn’t want the neuropathy to progress beyond a point that I thought would severely impact my quality of life.
What I ended up with is numbness in my feet and sometimes pain. It started out as a pretty intense burning feeling just three months after I started treatment in 2003. My feet felt as though they were on fire! From there, it progressed to numbness. It sort of feels like my feet aren’t my own. Shoes are no longer comfy.
After treatment with Revlimid and then Velcade, my neuropathy progressed some more. It changed a little, too. I now have some significant pain at times. I have to work with my feet up. I can’t sit at a desk, or anywhere, really, for very long. If I’m seated with my legs down for more than a half hour, I end up with pain up to my knees. I have to get my legs elevated or even lie down to get some relief.
When I first began to feel the effects of peripheral neuropathy (PN), I even had some trouble walking. I’m used to it now, so I no longer have to keep my eyes on my feet when I walk. It took a while for me to adjust.
A few days ago I was attempting a an exercise that involved hopping. It was really weird, because I didn’t really know where my feet were. I had to ask someone else if my feet even left the ground! That evening, while I was walking the dog, I tried something I hadn’t done in ages. I tried skipping, just for the heck of it. I couldn’t do it! Is that something I forgot how to do, or is the PN messing with me?
I decided to look for some information on the web, and found some facts on Livestrong.com:
What are the symptoms of neuropathy?
Peripheral neuropathy can affect the nerves which allow you to tell the position of your hands or feet, the nerves that allow you to sense hot or cold, or the nerves that carry pain sensation. The types and severity of neuropathy symptoms vary greatly. It is difficult to determine the degree of peripheral nerve injury only by the symptoms produced. Peripheral neuropathy symptoms are almost always greatest at night.
Common signs and symptoms include:
- Numbness or tingling, especially of the hands or feet
- Pain or cramping, especially of the hands , feet or calf muscles
- Sensitivity to touch or temperature
- Loss of reflexes
- Muscle wasting in the hands and feet
- Weakness, especially in the feet or hands
- Clumsiness
- Loss of balance, particularly in the dark
- Dizziness, especially when getting up from a bed or a chair
- Sexual dysfunction
Are some survivors at greater risk for neuropathy?
Neuropathy may occur from cancer or the treatment received. The following types of cancer may bring a higher risk:
- Lung
- Breast
- Ovarian
- Myeloma
- Lymphoma and Hodgkin’s disease
- Testicular
Here’s a link to the entire article: http://www.livestrong.org/site/c.khLXK1PxHmF/b.2660677/
I even found that they have a group for discussion of neuropathy secondary to drugs:
http://www.livestrong.com/groups/group/livestrong-neuropathy-secondary-to-drugs/
Dec 3, 2009
Posted by Beth on Dec 3, 2009 in Cancer, Duke, Myeloma | 3 comments
I wanted to post my results, and got a little behind! Here it is:
SERUM PROTEIN ELECTROPHORESIS: COMPARED TO 6/1/09, NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN PREVIOUSLY CHARACTERIZED (2) IgA-LAMBDAS FROM 0.25 TO 0.26 G/dL AND FROM 0.19 TO 0.15 G/dL.
The two m-spikes have been staying this way for several months now. The complete bone survey report says, “No
aggressive lytic or sclerotic osseous lesions.”
Good, eh?
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