Want to talk about Multiple Myeloma: Anyone else?

I’d like to hear results of stem cell transplants. I’m trying to decide whether to get a transplant or maintain my MM with chemo. I am a 74 year woman in good health but my age is a big concern. My understanding of transplants is it is hard on your body and could cause damage to your organs and you are very susceptible to infections.
I’d like to hear from someone around my age that had to make this decision and what they decided to do and how it turned out. I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma July 2022 with 45% cancer in my bone marrow. I am now at 10%.
Any info would be helpful.

@callie28 , @judithc I hope to give you a little information and/or encouragement with my husbands story.
He was diagnosed in spring of 2010, the first transplant at Mayo Rochester left him with a little residual disease. So they gave his body a few more months to recover and as the myeloma reared up, he went on a second induction therapy of 4 months, and back to transplant. By this time he was 70 but overall still in pretty good shape. This transplant was much harder on him, although the first wasn’t really easy. Again the Mayo team were rock stars in knowing what to expect and handling it.
This time he got a complete response, revlomid maintenance was recommended and he took that for two years.
He has had a few years at a time completely treatment free, and plenty of months of treatment that weren’t really easy, but not horrible. He will soon reach 13 years with myeloma, I believe this might have been an easier time had he been diagnosed earlier. He had bone lesions in virtually every bone when diagnosed. I believe his Mayo team and our most awesome Mayo trained doctor locally, have helped give us the gift of the last 13 years together.
If you have any questions for me, please feel free to tag me.
@judithc where do think you might be looking to have transplant?

I was 64 when I had my last of 4 stem cell transplants, an allo. The hospital’s transplant review doctors based their decision on whether I had a reasonable chance to survive the proposed SCT on their assessment of my mental and physical strength. Doing daily exercise and being active were key reasons they agreed to do this one. It put me in remission, where I’ve been the last decade.
This and other lessons we’ve learned are covered in 4 minute YouTube videos. Search 30 year myeloma survivor Patient 007 to watch.

That question is for a good resercher f MM, my wife had the bone marrow transplant and also the Cart t cell and did not work. But in most of the cases work, your DNA establishes the rules

On the same path with my husband. Diagnosed in November and started induction treatment in Dec. He will start his 4th cycle of induction therapy tomorrow. We live in Sacramento and plan to have an outpatient transplant at UCD. Has anyone else gone the outpatient route? Nervous about having him come home.

On the same path with my husband. Diagnosed in November and started induction treatment in Dec. He will start his 4th cycle of induction therapy tomorrow. We live in Sacramento and plan to have an outpatient transplant at UCD. Has anyone else gone the outpatient route? Nervous about having him come home.

I'm dealing with the same. I am trying to get an appointment at mayo. I would give anything to get a strait answer. bonnie

Actually my husband had both auto stem cell transplants at Mayo, and they were outpatient. We stayed in long term housing and he came home and went back to the clinic every day for infusions.
He did spend 5 days in the hospital with his first at about day post 10. Because he just needed all of his medicines IV. This is pretty predictable for them since they do about 250 a year on that floor. The second one was a little harder and he went in to the hospital a little earlier, and stayed a little longer.
We didn’t feel totally on our own, we could call the floor day or night and get help or answers. They also sent me as the caregiver through classes to learn a ton of information and feel pretty confident before we started.
When is he supposed to start? Are you planning to stay close or do you live close to UCD?

Hi Patty, actually having an outpatient experience with a SCT can be very positive. I had an Allogenic (using unrelated donor cells) transplant at Mayo-Rochester. There, all bone marrow transplants are basically outpatient. Statistics show recovery time can be aided by being in a ‘home’ environment. It’s safer than a hospital setting by reducing the possibilities for infection.
Patients move around more getting their own food from the fridge, they’re using their own bathrooms, sleeping in their own bed. Much better than when confined to a room or bed in a hospital.
Patients generally report to the clinic daily for blood work so it’s not as though you get the transplant and are pushed ‘out of the nest. If there are any complications then the patient gets admitted to the hospital again, asap.
Your husband, with his MM will most likely have a autogenic transplant using his own cells. That is of a much easier, faster recovery time simply because he is using his own cells…there’s no chance for rejection and graft vs host issues.
Do you have any specific questions I can help you with?