September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month
When, many many years ago (19, but who’s counting? ), my doctor uttered those two words, “mieloma multiplo,” I thought he’d said: “melanoma.”
Who’d ever heard of multiple myeloma???
Ahhhh, how things change!!!
And today, thanks to my research, mixed in with quite a bit of determination (stubbornness?), and, oh yes, quite a bit of luck, I’m doing okay:
No CRAB symptoms.
No conventional treatments.
Just…curcumin (mainly).
And, for sure!, lots of awareness!!! (Source: Margaret's Corner)
Source: Margaret's Corner - September 24, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll mieloma multiplo; myeloma multiple myeloma Source Type: blogs
Two cortisone stories involving Peekaboo and yours truly …
First, the news about Peekaboo. When I met with the vet a few days ago, he repeated that we wouldn’t be able to give her the current anti-inflammatory drug forever. Too bad, since she eagerly takes it in her wet food in the morning, and it seems to have no side effects. Oh well.
He suggested I substitute it with a drug called Contramal, which is basically Tramadol, and with another one that contains quercetin (I checked it out, it’s okay, so she’s on that now).
Tramadol is a different story. That’s the drug that Piccolo was on for some time last summer, and I am CONVINCED (although I have no proof, ...
Source: Margaret's Corner - September 7, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll cortisone Medrol Source Type: blogs
On The Pulse - August 2018
Early detection of multiple myeloma in primary care: which blood tests are most useful? (Source: OnMedica Blogs)
Source: OnMedica Blogs - August 31, 2018 Category: General Medicine Source Type: blogs
Forskolin: another natural compound goes on my list of myeloma killers
Yesterday I came across a 2015 study that really caught my attention. A group of Norwegian researchers has discovered that the combination of dexamethasone with a natural compound called forskolin kills multiple myeloma cells.
They tested forskolin with other conventional myeloma drugs, too: bortezomib (Velcade), cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and melphalan.
And by itself.
Results in a nutshell: dead myeloma cells.
Excerpt from the abstract: “Our findings support a potential role of forskolin in combination with current conventional agents in the treatment of MM.”
The researchers believe that forskolin mi...
Source: Margaret's Corner - August 1, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll forskolin myeloma Source Type: blogs
A case report: the antibiotic roxithromycin induces PR in a patient with smoldering myeloma
Well…Well…WELL!!! I’ve got a very interesting item for you today…
Many many many thanks to my blog reader Charlotte for this gem: goo.gl/hMsWov
The link will lead you to a case report about a 86-year-old patient (with IgA lambda smoldering myeloma) who went into partial remission after taking roxithromycin, an antibiotic, for just ONE MONTH. This happened last year in New Zealand.
The patient’s paraprotein, which had been increasing since he was diagnosed in 2008, dropped from 46 g/L to 20 g/L.
That’s a 57% decrease! Wowsie.
And another thing: in addition to his other markers remaining...
Source: Margaret's Corner - July 12, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll myeloma roxithromycin Roxithromycin monotherapy inducing a partial response in a patient with myeloma: a case report Source Type: blogs
“ Crystal structure reveals how curcumin impairs cancer ”
Wow, VERY EXCITING BIT OF NEWS that popped up in my Google Alerts yesterday.
My post title is the title of a new study revealing a previously unreported biochemical activity of curcumin. This very important study, carried out by three research teams (University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Peking University, and Zhejiang University), shows how curcumin attaches to, and INHIBITS, a gene called DYRK2, which is associated with cellular growth and/or development. This inhibition diminishes the proliferation of cancer cells. It reduces the tumor burden.
How about THAT?
Here’s the link to the University ...
Source: Margaret's Corner - July 11, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll Crystal Structure Reveals How Curcumin Impairs Cancer University of California San Diego School of Medicine Source Type: blogs
For the first time, the FDA approves a CBD-containing drug
As I have written in previous posts, CBD, or cannabidiol, an active ingredient of marijuana, kills myeloma cells, so the news I came across early this morning is of huge interest to me.
In a nutshell, for the first time ever, the FDA has approved a CBD-containing oral solution (= a strawberry-flavored syrup) for the treatment of rare but severe forms of epilepsy in children.
Note: this syrup does not contain THC, the ingredient in marijuana that makes people “high.”
It may not come without side effects, such as sleepiness and increased liver enzymes (like most anti-seizure drugs, it appears), as you can read in...
Source: Margaret's Corner - June 28, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll CBD Epidiolex Source Type: blogs
A new commission looks into the adverse effects of blood cancer treatments
This morning I read an IMPORTANT Science Daily article on how the adverse effects, tolerability, and toxicities of conventional treatments for blood cancers (including myeloma, of course) have not been reported/disclosed as well as they should have been, to put it mildly. See: goo.gl/ou9CNg
Well, this may change soon enough: a new commission set up by The Lancet Haematology has been looking into these adverse effects and toxicities, considering in particular the long-term, chronic effects that don’t go away even after the completion of treatment, such as neuropathy, which can be crippling.
Quality of life has always...
Source: Margaret's Corner - June 26, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll adverse effects blood cancers Lancet Haematology myeloma neuropathy Source Type: blogs
Researchers test curcumin in new bone-building study
After enhancing the bioavailability of curcumin using polymers, a group of Washington State University researchers proved that curcumin can increase bone growth by between 30% and 45% in a matter of weeks: “The presence of curcumin in TCP results in enhanced bone formation after 6 weeks.” (Quoted from the abstract.)
The researchers are currently testing other natural extracts as well, namely “aloe vera, saffron, Vitamin D, garlic, oregano and ginger [… ] that might help with bone disorders, including those that encourage bone growth or that have anti-inflammatory, infection control, or anti-cance...
Source: Margaret's Corner - June 16, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll bone building bone formation curcumin myeloma Source Type: blogs
Exercise as part of cancer treatment
In a first, a national cancer organization has issued formal guidelines recommending exercise as part of cancer treatment, for all cancer patients. The Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) is very clear on the directive. Its recommendations are:
Exercise should be embedded as part of standard practice in cancer care and viewed as an adjunct therapy that helps counteract the adverse effects of cancer and its treatment.
All members of the multi-disciplinary cancer team should promote physical activity and help their patients adhere to exercise guidelines.
Best practice cancer care should include referral to an accr...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - June 13, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Monique Tello, MD, MPH Tags: Cancer Exercise and Fitness Health Source Type: blogs
Quick post
Wow, it’s been a long time since I last published a post. Everything is fine, more or less…This has just been a super busy period…
In a nutshell: our two mischievous kittens (see the awful cellphone photo on the right) were spayed a couple of weeks ago after the scare with Pandora’s heart turned out to be just that. I mean, it was just a scare, luckily!!! They are doing just fine and are as mischievous as ever.
Then Stefano and I spent four days at a cousin’s wedding in Avellino, a town near Naples, then there were a million things to do once we got back to Florence, teaching English blablabl...
Source: Margaret's Corner - June 6, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll bronchitis myeloma spayed kittens Source Type: blogs
Positive reinforcement may have an effect even on … PLANTS!!!
Okay, this post really has nothing to do with myeloma (although one could argue that it’s related to stress, in some way…), but I found it absolutely FASCINATING.
It describes an experiment by IKEA, which recently placed two of its own plants in a school in Dubai and asked students to verbally abuse one of them while talking in a positive manner to the other. See: goo.gl/DJFsBF
As you will see in the video, after only one month, the “abused” plant looked terrible, all wilted, with brown-spotted leaves, while the “complimented” plant was healthy, with lovely green leaves.
As you can read ...
Source: Margaret's Corner - May 10, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll IKEA plant bullying Source Type: blogs
9/11 firefighters have an increased risk of developing cancer, especially multiple myeloma
I have read that firefighters in general are three times more likely to get cancer because of their exposure to toxic chemicals that they inhale and that also get stuck in their clothing. But it really saddened me last week to read a recently published report about the 9/11 firefighters…
In this NBC News article, multiple myeloma is the first cancer mentioned: goo.gl/XaZJsa
The fact that so many of these brave people were being diagnosed with MGUS and MM is actually not the news of the day. I’ve been reading articles about this for years now. But, as I wrote above, there is a new study, published last week in...
Source: Margaret's Corner - April 30, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll 9/11 firefighters multiple myeloma Source Type: blogs
Not just myeloma
First bit of news: I’ve had absolutely no pain in my heel. It’s as good as new. I have to admit I’m still stunned…and I wonder if a more conventional doctor, let’s say a physiotherapist, would have made the connection between my relatively new eyeglass prescription and my heel pain. I doubt it.
This makes me wonder how many similar cases there are, of people who think they have plantar fasciitis or tendonitis or, sorry for the mention! , heel spurs, but whose pain actually originated in a different part of the body, an easy-to-fix part of the body. Mind-blowing, eh?
But the reason I’m ...
Source: Margaret's Corner - April 20, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll celiac disease curcumin EBV Epstein-Barr virus inflammatory bowel disease lupus multiple sclerosis rheumatoid arthritis type 1 diabetes Source Type: blogs
The Art of Medicine: Taking a Military History
This article was prepared by the authors above in his/her personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Connecticut Healthcare System or the United States government.
Title: The Forgotten Question: Taking a Military History
Authors:
Meredith Bertrand, NP1
Eugenia Betz, MD1,2
Alice Grant, NP1
Leila Haghighat, MD1,2
Janet Ku, NP1
Sumit R. Kumar, MD1,2
Mona Lalehzari, MD1,2
Benjamin Y. Lu, MD1,2
J. Nicholas Pumilia, MD1,2
Jonathan Stock, MD1,2
Anna Reisman, MD1,2,3
1. VA Centers of Excellence in Primary Care Ed...
Source: The Health Care Blog - April 15, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
