One step closer to a cure for Multiple Myeloma

Some people may have heard about the Mayo's Clinic recent trial of measles vaccine to cure MM. The trial included 2 individuals. One woman, age 50, was considered CANCER FREE from the incurable MM! However, the second participant relapsed after 9 months. It may not be a treatment option or cure just yet, but with more research, test, and tweaking of the trials we may be steps closer to a cure. People are excited and hopeful! MM is increasing in numbers especially among younger patients, and it also the second most common blood cancer.

Check out the story: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/05/15/measles-vaccine-cancer-mayo-clinic/9115363/?csp=fbfanpage

Let's talk Leukemia

When it comes to blood cancers most people have not heard of Multiple Myeloma but typically they have heard of Leukemia or Lymphoma. You may read that these blood cancers will only affect a certain race or age, but the reality is none of these blood cancers attack people of a specific age group. This disease affects people of all ages and races.There are four forms of Leukemia.  Acute Myeloid (AML), Chronic Myeloid (CML), Chronic Lymphocytic (CLL), and Acute Lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). 

Leukemia is a cancer of the marrow and the blood. Acute leukemias are rapidly progressing diseases that affect cells that are not fully developed, and they cannot carry out their normal functions. Chronic leukemias usually progress more slowly and some of the cells can carry out normal functions. There is no one triggering event that is linked to Acute Myeloid Leukemia. It has been suggested that repeated exposure to the chemical benzene may be a factor in AML development. Benzene is a colorless, flammable liquid with a sweet odor. This chemical can be found in certain industrial settings as well as in cigarette smoke. In addition, certain genetic disorders such as Fanconi's anemia, Shwachman syndrome, and Down Syndrome are associated with an increase risk of AML.

AML is the most common acute leukemia affecting adults, and it is also the most common type of leukemia diagnosed during infancy. At least 15% to 20% of cases of leukemia are childhood and 82% are adulthood.
Some signs and symptoms of AML may include tiredness, a pale complextion from anemia, weight loss, discomfort in bones and joints, mild fevers, black and blue bruises occurring for no reason or a minor injury, swollen gums, and frequent minor infections.

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia is known to be less severe than AML. The CML cells grows and survive better than normal cells, but if they are left untreated there will be uncontrolled growth of CML cells. There is a gene, BCR-ABL, that will develop into CML. Researchers do not understand why this gene only forms in some people and not in others. It has also been reported that a small number of patients, CML can be caused be exposure to radiation. Most cases of CML occur in adults. Some of the signs and symptoms include tiredness, shortness of breath while doing everyday activities, enlarged spleen, paleness from anemia (decrease in red cells), night sweats, weight loss, and an inability to tolerate warm temperatures.

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia results from an acquired change to the DNA of a single marrow cell that develops into a lymphocyte. At this time researchers still don't know what causes this change. CLL cells are known to survive better than normal cells too, but the uncontrolled growth will result in CLL cells in the blood.  CLL has two different forms: slow growing and fast growing. CLL has not been linked to any environmental or external factors and more common in people who are 60 years old and older. Symptoms of CLL typically develop over time and some people may not have any symptoms at all. Those who do experience symptoms may deal with tiredness, weight loss, or swollen lymph nodes.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia results from an acquired or genetic injury to the DNA of a single cell in the marrow. The effects of ALL include uncontrollable growth and accumulation of cells called lymphoblasts or leukemic blasts, which fail to function as a normal blood cell. High doses of radiation are known to possibly increase the chances of ALL; however, researchers continue to look into lifestyle and environmental causes too. Signs and symptoms are the same as others such as pale skin, fever, weight loss, etc.

Pay attention to your body and if you feel something is wrong be proactive and seek medical attention. Stay on the medical staff and be sure to ask for a blood test because some of these blood cancers can only be detected through a blood test.


This post is dedicated to this little angel below, Paisley, who battled AML, and at 6 months old she is now sitting comfortably in God's arms. I thank her mother, Alexis, and aunt, Candace, for allowing me to post her picture and the shirt in her honor.

Please help support research for childhood cancer and blood cancers. There are lots of things you can do, donate to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to help create funds to help cure blood cancers...Leukemia, Lymphoma, and Myeloma. Check out the volunteer opportunities on www.lls.org. No one is exempt from Cancer. What if it was your family, your children, your close friend, or you? Wouldn't you do what you can to help advocate and find answers for the cure!

Remember with any Cancer diagnosis you will have your good days and bad days but keep God in your life and don't give up hope! 

Blood Cancer Survivor of the Month (May): Sarah

The summer of 2006 I did not feel well.  I was tired all the time and often slightly queasy.   At Thanksgiving in 2005 I had broken a rib, and a few months later another one on the other side, and they weren’t healing well.  Finally at the end of August 2006 I went to my primary care physician, and she ordered tests, including a CAT scan.  A couple of days later she called me.  The CAT scan had shown lytic lesions on the bones of my ribs and spine.  That meant one of three things: metastatic breast cancer, metastatic lung cancer, or multiple myeloma.  She didn’t think I had multiple myeloma because I didn’t meet the demographic (she was a young doctor just out of residency with not a lot of experience).  She ordered another CAT scan, this one with contrast dye.  A couple of days after that CAT scan I started throwing up. I couldn’t keep anything down.  She ordered more blood tests. A mammogram had shown no sign of a breast tumor, and the CAT scan had shown no sign of a lung tumor.  Early in September 2006 she called and said the blood tests indicated my kidneys were failing, and I should come to the ER right away.  We were in the ER about 36 hours before they moved me to a room.  The nephrologist the FP doc called in thought it was myeloma.  They did a kidney biopsy and placed a dialysis catheter and I had my first dialysis treatment on September 9, 2006.  The next day an oncologist visited and told me I had multiple myeloma. She gave me a treatment to draw the calcium back into my bones, and gave me plasmaphoresis to remove some of the myeloma protein.

We were living in the New Orleans area at the time, and this was only a year after Katrina.  Medical care was still in disarray.  My oncologist told me she was sending me to the Myeloma Institute  for Research and Treatment (MIRT) at the University of Arkansas for Medical Science (UAMS) in Little Rock.  My first visit I was there for 3 weeks.  I had MRI, PET scan, bone marrow biopsy, and blood tests (25 vials of blood that first trip!), and I still had to have dialysis 3 times a week.  The MRI showed a tumor had just about taken over my C4 vertebra in my neck.  A surgeon removed the vertebra and put a plate between C3 and C5 vertebrae.  I was in a neck brace for 10 weeks. The bone marrow biopsy revealed I had high risk, stage 3, kappa light chain myeloma.  The MRI revealed over 100 lesions on ribs, spine, shoulder blades, and pelvis.  I had compression fractures in my spine, and I was now 2 inches shorter than I had been before myeloma.  At the end of that first trip to MIRT I signed up for a clinical study. Because I had kidney failure some of MIRT’s standard treatments were out.  My protocol called for 3 months of thalidomide and dexamethasone, followed by light chemo, then collection of stem cells, and tandem stem cell bone marrow transplants.  I was sent home on October 1. 

After a month on thalidomide-dex, blood tests showed the drugs were working.  My free light chains were reduced.  In January 2007 I went back to MIRT.  I was given melphalan, and about 10 days later I did stem cell collection.  They got enough stem cells for 5 transplants. They sent me home to get some strength back, and I came back to MIRTI star in March 2007 for chemo (cytoxin) followed by stem cell transplant. I got bad mucositis and could barely force myself to eat.  I started losing weight.  I was still on dialysis.  After a bout of pneumonia my white count started rising, and they released me to go home at the end of March. 

In June 2007 I went back to MIRT for the second transplant.  However, testing prior to the transplant showed I had pneumonia, so I had to wait for a month until it was gone.  The second transplant took place on July 1, 2007.  Again I got mucusitis, pneumonia again, and a full body rash.  I was also anorexic and couldn’t eat.  My white count finally recovered and I was sent home in remission. 

My first checkup back at MIRT was in October 2007.  My research protocol had called for being put back on thalidomide when my platelets went up to 150000, but they hadn’t by that October visit, so my doctor took me off the study and put me on thalidomide.  He told me I was in complete remission.  But I was still on dialysis.

The two years after the treatment I returned to MIRT every 3 months.  After that I sent blood and urine samples in every 2 months, and visited every 6 months.  Finally, at 5 years the visit interval was once a year, with samples sent every 2 months.  When I moved to Oregon in November 2012, I stopped going back to MIRT.  I see my hematologist/oncologist here ever 6 months, and I do blood tests every 3 months.  I’m still in remission after  6 1/2 years.  I’m still on dialysis, but now I’m being evaluated for a kidney transplant. 

That’s my survivor story.

Sarah Lingle