Tag Archive for: myeloma care team

Where Should I START Following My Myeloma Diagnosis?

Where Should I START Following My Myeloma Diagnosis? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What should multiple myeloma patients do following diagnosis? Watch as myeloma expert Dr. Peter Forsberg shares care and support advice, and patient and Empowerment Lead Lisa Hatfield shares support that she’s found helpful and advice for moving forward to treatment.

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Transcript:

Being diagnosed with myeloma can be a big shock. Here are some key steps you can take from a myeloma expert:

Dr. Peter Forsberg:

I think the first thing you want to do is make sure you have a care team in place you’re comfortable with. That means support from friends and family. It also means providers you’re comfortable with. Usually you’re diagnosed by an oncologist and hopefully that’s somebody that you already feel a good comfortable relationship with.

I always think it’s worthwhile to consider getting a second opinion, another voice. And that could be even if you’re diagnosed at the most high-power academic center in the country, or whether it’s in a more community-type setting. I think having another voice just to make sure everything makes sense, that it seems fairly consistent, and that you understand things as thoroughly as you can. But you do want to get the ball rolling in terms of making a care plan and moving towards therapy if that’s the next step, without taking too much time.”

Lisa Hatfield:

Well, to start following your myeloma diagnosis, I think the first thing that has to happen is you have to allow yourself time to take in  that information from your provider, to think about it, always have another person with you to take notes. Because the shock of getting a cancer diagnosis can overwhelm your mind, and having somebody with a notebook and pen and can take notes during every appointment was really critical for me. My husband went with me, and it was a huge godsend going back and looking at those notes whenever I had to go to another provider to talk about my diagnosis. So I think having a person go with you, having a good medical team, some people prefer to go on the Internet and research myeloma. I did like to do that. I probably found too much information, but it helped me come up with a plan of what type of questions to ask my providers and possibly treatments. I wanted to understand treatments better. So I think trying to figure out your myeloma diagnosis, first start with your medical team, always have somebody with you, and just take your time trying to understand what the team is telling you. There’s usually not a huge rush with a myeloma diagnosis. You don’t have to act within 24 hours, so allow yourself some time.

Who Is On Your Myeloma Healthcare Team?

Who Is On Your Myeloma Healthcare Team? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Myeloma patients have key team members involved in their treatment and care. Expert Dr. Rafael Fonseca provides an overview of the members of the healthcare team and how they play a role in providing optimal patient care.

Dr. Rafael Fonseca is the interim director of Mayo Clinic Cancer Center and serves as the director for Innovation and Transformational Relationships at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Learn more about Dr. Fonseca here.

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Related Programs:

How to Make an Informed Myeloma Treatment Decision

How Can Myeloma Caregivers Provide Support?

How Can Myeloma Patients Take an Active Role in Their Treatment and Care?


Transcript:

Katherine: 

When a person is diagnosed with myeloma, they usually have a whole healthcare team. Who is typically on that team?

Dr. Fonseca:

Absolutely. Let me start by saying the key to the successful management of myeloma is to have a well-organized team. It’s a disease that requires an integrated approach that usually brings around the patient a physician.

As part of my team, we also have advanced practice providers. We work with nurse practitioners that help us do the longitudinal care of patients. We have the nursing team. Every time I meet a new patient, I make it a point to bring my nursing team into the room so they can put a name and a face together, as patients will be interacting, of course, with a nursing team through the portal and the various visits. We have a team that is in charge of the chemotherapy administration. That is usually a separate a nursing team that is in charge of the administration of the medications. But we really don’t stop there.

We have pharmacists who help us review the medications for our patients. Very importantly, we have social workers that help us address psychosocial needs, as well as some of the practicalities that become inevitable when one deals with a serious diagnosis like multiple myeloma.