Apr 19, 2010 Posted by Beth on Apr 19, 2010 in Myeloma Treatment, Thalomid | 0 comments

W5 investigates the high cost of Celgene’s Thalidomide

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/w5/pills-patients–profits/#clip281624

Canada’s news program, W5 (which I assume is shorthand for who, what, when, where and why) , did a program called, “Pills Patients & Profits.”  You can see the entire segment on their web site.  Click on the link or image above to watch part 3, which focuses on the cost of thalidomide (Celgene’s Thalomid), which is an important treatment for multiple myeloma.

It’s very informative, so please do watch all four parts.

Jun 10, 2009 Posted by Beth on Jun 10, 2009 in Duke, Myeloma, Myeloma Treatment | 0 comments

Immunoglobulin Profile for June 1, 2009

GENLAB Immunology: Final    06/01/2009 15:03

IMMUNOGLOBULIN PROFILE
                                                             Reference
  IMMUNOGLOBULIN G                  *410         mg/dL       [588-1573]
          TEST REPEATED TO CONFIRM
            NOTE:  African-American reference ranges differ slightly from
                   those listed.  Please call the Immunology Lab at 684-6939
                   for race specific ranges.
  IMMUNOGLOBULIN A                  *432         mg/dL       [46-287]
          TEST REPEATED TO CONFIRM
  IMMUNOGLOBULIN M                  *26          mg/dL       [57-237]
  IMMUNOGLOBULIN E                   30          IU/mL       [4-269]

Jun 1, 2009 Posted by Beth on Jun 1, 2009 in ASCO, Myeloma, Myeloma Treatment | 8 comments

The eight lethal cancers

A blog reader sent this to me, and I wanted to pass it on.

Hi Beth,

I follow your blog and thought you might be interested to know about a new initiative launched by a coalition of patient advocacy organizations during the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).  Led by the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF), MDS Foundation and the Tackle Myeloma Foundation (TMF), they unveiled a patient “Statement of Principles” to address the inequalities in reimbursement of cancer therapies.

Currently, Medicare and private insurance companies require higher deductibles and co-payments for oral drugs than for IV therapies and inpatient procedures.  However, private insurance is regulated at the state level and Oregon, Indiana and Iowa have laws requiring equal coverage with similar legislation pending in several additional states and federal legislation introduced in Congress.

If you’re interested in learning more or signing the petition, you can check out the IMF or MDSF websites.

Best,
Allison

If you go to the IMF’s web site, you can read more about the Cancer Patient Statement of Principles.  This was taken from their web site.

About the eight lethal cancers Eight forms of cancer, of which multiple myeloma is one, are projected to cause 49% of the 562,340* cancer deaths projected in 2009. For each of these forms of cancer, at least half of the patients diagnosed will die from their cancer within five years. Those cancers are: Type of cancer Deaths projected in 2009 New diagnoses projected in 2009 5-year survival rate Brain cancer 12,920 22,070 35% Pancreatic cancer 35,240 42,470 5% Esophageal cancer 14,350 16,470 16% Liver cancer 18,160 22,620 10% Lung cancer 159,390 219,440 15% Multiple myeloma 10,580 20,580 34% Ovarian cancer 14,600 21,550 45% Stomach cancer 10,620 21,130 24% *Source: Cancer Facts & Figures 2009, American Cancer Society, Atlanta. 2009 Click here to support the Cancer Patient Statement of Principles.

May 18, 2009 Posted by Beth on May 18, 2009 in Cancer, Myeloma | 0 comments

Possible link between formaldehyde exposure and myeloma

According to a recent article published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute Advance Access published online on May 12, 2009, it looks as though exposure to formaldehyde could raise one’s risk of lymphohematopoietic malignancies (blood and lymph cancers).

For an extremely statistical look, read the abstract -> http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/djp096

I had some exposure to formaldehyde during my twenties. Nobody can say for sure if that was the risk factor for me though. I worked around plastics.  A certain type of plastic, called high density polyethylene,  gives off fumes that contain formaldehyde when it’s heated to a high temperature.  We stood around at a factory with melting HDPE around us all the time.

Mar 15, 2009 Posted by zerofeel on Mar 15, 2009 in Family, Internet, Life, Myeloma, Myeloma Treatment, News | 3 comments

My Uncle and www.MyelomaForums.com

All,

My uncle Darryl Ramsey was recently diagnosed with Stage 3 Multiple Myeloma and was told that he has aprox 1 year to live.  However, my uncle feels that Chemo and Radation are a waste of time because he now knows he has been sick with Multiple Myeloma for over 10 years and thinks he is still here today because of the fact that he was the type of person to refuse going to doctors and he for years started jucing and eating better every day.  Like most people the first thing my uncle did was a Google search and he found nothing but grimm information.  I started www.myelomaforums.com because I wanted him and others like him to have access to information from other people so that him and others like him know about all the best treatments and have access to all the answers.  However, the hardest part of getting a sucessful forum started is getting people and content.  I am here to ask everyone to please sign up with www.myelomaforums.com as well because the more your stories are out there the more people we can help.

Thanks,

Andy

P.S. Beth your’re a sweetheart and thanks for the kind email and willingness to help.