Improved Survival Rates

Good Afternoon Everyone;

On the home page there's an article about a new drug for MM if you'd like to read it. I only highlighted the paragraph below:

About Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells, a type of white blood cell, which typically occurs in older patients. According to the American Cancer Society, there will be an estimated 19,920 new cases of multiple myeloma and 10,690 deaths from this disease in the United States in 2008. Standard treatments include anticancer drugs, steroids, stem cell transplantation, and radiation therapy. The overall five-year survival rate is 34%.

What caught my eye was the numbers are starting to FINALLY to grow apart. Past research would say new cases 15,000 and deaths 13,000. It certainly appears to me that we're staying alive longer! I also don't ever remember reading a projected 5 YEAR survival rate. They usually measured it 1 and 2 year time periods.

All this is great news and should rekindle the fire in all of us. These Drs. are very near the breakthrough we all seek. We must continue to challange them to the find that elusive cure.

Take care;

Kevin

The advances that have been made with blood cancers is nothing less than miraculous.  My 5 yr old grand daughter was diagnosed with ALL type Leukemia a year ago and with the care she has received at Loma Linda Children's Hospital in Riverside Co, CA, we are all confident she will be cured of this evil disease!!  At this time, they are experiencing a 80-90% cure rate of a disease that was a death sentence only a couple of decades ago.

 Happy GrandPa

Kevin,

That's very interesting.  I've also noticed many pages are now mentioning/using "cure" in rare cases for some patients with MM.  Things are moving fast...it's wonderful.

http://www.huntsmancancer.org/groups/myeloma/messageFromDire

Some predict 50% of patients following their schema will reach 10 years.  University of Ark also makes the same 10-year claim

I hope/pray we all live long healthy lives following our treatment. 

H Kevin!  As you and others are experiencing, the numbers are changing in a very positive way.  If we had to be diagnosed with MM, now was the time to do it.  These new 'novel' approaches are making real inroads towards a remission/cure.  I never thought I'd live to see MM become a 'chronic' disease, but I was wrong!!  Revlimid and the like are certainly making such progress as are the even newer drugs that are aimed at killing just the MM cells - its really mindboggling!!  Thank you for keeping your ear to the groud and bringing the latest NEWS to the rest of us!! 

You are really quite amazing -- continually making progress for all with MM even while you are going through your own transplant!!  Fantastic!!  Best wishes mate, Cath