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Better to be in some pain or better to up the dose of prednisone?
Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) | Last Active: Apr 13 9:13am | Replies (36)Comment receiving replies
Two time cancer survivor here. No biologics for me, the risk is too great. I have 3 diagnosed autoimmune conditions, including PMR.
Replies to "Two time cancer survivor here. No biologics for me, the risk is too great. I have..."
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I don't think I would take a biologic if I had a history of cancer. My wife is a cancer nurse and she says prednisone "enhances the cancer medications" but doesn't treat cancer.
I don't know all the details but apparently some cancer patients are given Actemra because of "cytokine release syndrome" from the cancer treatment.
Seriously ill Covid patients were treated with Actemra (tocilizumab) for this reason as well. It is also called a "cytokine storm."
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8662023/
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My rheumatologist says I have at least 3 autoimmune conditions and says that is why I need a biologic. He says Actemra isn't "optimal treatment" for all my autoimmune conditions. I was allowed to choose the biologic that works best for me. Actemra targeted PMR but seems to work well for my other autoimmune conditions.