Treatment Side Effects
- Multiple myeloma treatments can affect each person differently. Some possible side effects from multiple myeloma include neuropathy, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
- But one of our experts says that most drugs can be held or dose reduced or administered differently in order to mitigate side effects.
- No matter what, you should always communicate with your doctor about any possible treatment side effects so they can best help you manage them or decide on a different treatment path.
Dr. Tareq Al Baghdadi, a medical oncologist and hematologist at St. Joe's Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, spoke with SurvivorNet about treatment side effects and how he addresses them.
Read MoreHow Are Side Effects Handled?
“With Velcade, if you give the treatment subcutaneously, under the skin, versus intravenously, you’ll get less neuropathy,” Dr. Al Baghdadi said. “If you adjust the schedule and give it weekly rather than twice a week, you’ll also get less neuropathy.”
There are other side effects that are associated with other types of myeloma treatment. For example, diarrhea, rash, and nausea with lenalidomide (Revlimid), or shortness of breath, black stools, and bloating with carfilzomib (Kyprolis). Similar interventions can be taken to mitigate these side effects and any others that come up.
“We can hold treatment, delay treatment, reduce the dose of the drug and then use supplemental treatments,” Dr. Al Baghdadi said. “It is not unusual, for example, to reduce the dose of Revlimid in patients who have issues with low blood counts or require transfusions. And this can be the case in patients getting induction treatment or maintenance treatment.
RELATED: Can Multiple Myeloma Patients Achieve Durable Remission After Induction Therapy?
“So, all drugs, or most drugs, can be held or dose reduced, but there’s also differences in the way we give the drug.”
Everyone’s treatment journey can look different, so it’s important to take yours one step at a time and listen to your body along the way. Dr. Al Baghdadi advice: communicate with your physician.
“As always, follow the physician’s instructions,” he said. “If there are side effects, don’t delay calling and reporting those side effects, whether you think those side effects are related to myeloma recurrence or drug side effects. If there are issues with infections, those should be treated like emergencies… a lot of patients with multiple myeloma have immune suppression with or without treatment.”
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