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tmariscal
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Posted: Sat Feb 21st, 2009 02:04 am |
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My mother was diagnosed with mulitiple mylenoma in May 2007. She has been doing pretty good until about 2 weeks ago. She is 68 years old and the cancer has caused renal failure. In December, she had a stem cell replacement, and the doctors just let us know that it only kept her in remission for 6 weeks. now the cancer has come back more aggressive than it ever has. In the past week. she has become weak, dizzy and unable to remember anything. is this something this kind of Cancer can do to someone in 1 week? is there any other treatment that may work for my mom?
help
Loving Daughter in Boise
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Posted: Sun Feb 22nd, 2009 09:12 pm |
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Hi,
I spoke with Dr. Guido Tricot, the director of the Huntsman Cancer Institute Myeloma Program, and he says that the first thing to check would be whether or not she is hypercalcemic.
Hypercalcemia is a complication that can occur in multiple myeloma patients. It means that excess calcium has built up in the blood. It causes the kidneys to fail and patients become drowsy, confused, forgetful, and experience muscle weakness. Patients may also start to lose their appetite and feel nauseated.
It sounds like this may be what your mother is experiencing, so it is worth looking into. Hypercalcemia calls for urgent treatment.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Sincerely,
Myeloma Chat Moderator from Huntsman Cancer Institute
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tmariscal
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Posted: Mon Feb 23rd, 2009 04:26 am |
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| Thanks for the iformantion. What is the urgent treatment for Hypercalcimia?
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Annick
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Posted: Mon Feb 23rd, 2009 05:31 pm |
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Hypercalcemia is usually treated with calcitonin and fluids to flush the kidneys.
As for your question regarding other treatment, I suspect that your mother was undertreated, which is one of the reasons the disease came back so quickly. It is certainly possible that your mother will have a much more prolonged response to treatment if she is treated differently, which is why I would urge you to seek out a myeloma specialist for her, and not just a general oncologist.
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Posted: Mon Feb 23rd, 2009 06:57 pm |
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Hi,
Just as Annick said, hypercalcemia is usually treated with intravenous fluid and medications, such as biophosphonates or other drugs, to stop the breakdown of bone. If the hypercalcemia is severe, calcitonin is used.
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