Listen HERE! To the Myeloma Cure Panel discussion with Pat Killingsworth on Myeloma Cure versus Control

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Myeloma Cure Panel

Our October Myeloma Cure Panel, co-hosted by Pat Killingsworth, was conducted on 29^th Monday at 7pm EST. It was a wonderful discussion with Nick Van Dyk, Jack Aiello, and Gary Petersen on the panel discussing the much controversial Myeloma Cure vs. Control issue.

Pat began the discussion with a brief outline of his myeloma story as well as his bracings about the main therapies available for the myeloma community currently, Allotransplant and Total therapy (UAMS). Panelists introducing themselves and briefing the panel with their myeloma stories followed this.

We had a slightly different format for the panel this time, with Pat asking each panelist three questions each and the panel discussion began with the question,

Right now, there are two possible therapies that might “cure” select patients; donor transplants and Total Therapy. My question is this: From a patient’s perspective, are either of these intensive therapy options worth the small risk of a possible cure?

The discussion ranged between concurrence and support for aggressive treatment of the disease as against a more conservative approach, as explained by Dr. Hari on our previous Myeloma Cure Panel. As any myeloma treatment would hinge around the issue of ‘quality of life’, the panel discussion naturally steered towards this with the questions,

What does “quality of life” mean to you? How poorly would you have to feel before deciding to stop a therapy that might significantly extend your life?

and Specifically, if you were given the option of living five years relatively drug free, or six years using aggressive maintenance therapy all six years- complete with a long list of side effects – which would you chose and why?

Panel hovered around side effect profile of various drugs used in myeloma treatment and effect on quality of life with panelists quoting statistics and results of studies. Dr. Barlogie was a common reference, and Arkansas myeloma Total Therapy issue made its presence felt once in a while though the panelists were in total concurrence with ‘either cure or control to be patient’s choice’ leading to a smooth ending of the panel discussion.

Listen to Pat, Gary, Nick, and Jack with their views on Cure vs. Control here,

Listen to internet radio with The Cure Panel Talk Show on Blog Talk Radio

In spite of Storm Sandy hitting US on‘d’ day and our New York office having to shut down due to it, the Cure Panel went off quite smoothly.

CureTalk thanks Pat, Nick, Gary, and Jack for their support and thanks all the people who dialed in to listen.

Keep checking our website for the next Myeloma Cure Panel update.