I am sitting here thinking about this disease and how it has affected so many people. Not just the people in my life, my father and brother who both succumbed to it. Myeloma affects over 10,000 people per year in the US. It once was referred to as the "old man's" disease, but now many people in their 30's and younger have it? Why? I have no ready answers but perhaps it is environmental.... the toxic way we have treated our world has lead to this? I know personally that my father... a burley tobacco farmer sprayed his tobacco from circa 1951?- till he retired in 1990 with a spray called
MH-30 which is effectively, by any other name "Agent Orange" in Tobacco to retard plant growth, in southeast asia the same! I realize this is not aiding the discussion of why any of us have this cancer? But perhaps, in some small way it opens the conversation about possible causes?
Thx
Keith
Hi, Keith--I was introduced to you by Pat Killingsworth in one of his blogs. I just read this entry of yours and wanted to comment. I was diagnosed at age 42 in Dec. 2007 with stage 3 MM. I had had it for at least 16 years and had back pain off and on all that time. I am doing well now, have had a CR to Velcade, Thalidomide, and Dex and am currently on a Revlimid maintenance regimen. I am very much convinced that a lot of MM is caused by environmental issues. I was exposed to radiation at a young age and my father died from leukemia because of the same exposure. He had other contributing factors, which made his cancer so aggressive. He passed away in 1984 at the age of 45.
ReplyDeleteI wish you well in your treatment!
Susan
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteI wished there was a definitive answer as to whether environmental exposure leads to Myeloma. My father was, besides his farming, exposed during WWII to DDT spray by the US army which "dusted" all the troops with DDT. However, I know of dozens of other persons exposed to the same chemicals who never contracted any cancer, blood or otherwise? I have "low risk" disease and am being treated, tested at UAMS in Little Rock. May I ask where you are being treated?
Thx Keith
Hi Keith,
ReplyDeleteI came across your blog through the myeloma beacon and I have been interested in reading about your myeloma journey! I was also diagnosed with MGUS in 2009 - I was 25 at the time. A bone marrow biopsy this summer has suggested possible conversion to SMM. Definitely not an "old man's disease" to me! :) I just started a blog too which has been an interesting endeavor. Anyway, best of luck to you and I wish you the best in your treatments!
-Elizabeth
Welcome to the blogusphere! I look forward to reading your blog also.
DeleteKeith
Hi Keith,
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog. I am a firm believer that MM is being caused by toxic exposure. How one person can get it, while another doesn't, even though exposed to the same things is complicated, but I'm sure has to do with genetics, other "insults" to their bodies, and all that. There is some thought that people who develop MM are less able to neutralize toxins in their bodies than others are. In our case, my husband has been a wood flooring contractor since 1986. He has dealt with petroleum based chemicals and wood dust all that time. Both are implicated in MM. He rarely ever wore a mask or respirator to protect himself. Prior to working in construction businesses, he was a landscaper, applying chemicals to lawns and even sealed driveways for awhile. He was diagnosed with MM right after his 43rd birthday. There are many cancers that are on the rise, and I think it's impossible for our increased exposures to toxins NOT to be the reason.
Best to you, Denise from Jersey www.timswifesblog.blogspot.com