Tag Archive for: myeloma

Patient Profile: Barry Marcus’ Multiple Myeloma Journey

Patient Profile Barry Marcus’ Multiple Myeloma Journey from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Empowered patient, Barry Marcus, shares his multiple myeloma journey from searching for a diagnosis to how he is managing his disease today.


Transcript:

In May of 2014, I was signed up to do a charity bicycle ride in Portland for MS with my cousin, her husband, and her son, who has an MS. And about a week before the ride, I started feeling exhausted for no apparent reason, terrible fatigue. All I could really do was lay on the couch and this was completely anomalous for me. I didn’t really have any other symptoms. I didn’t have a cough or a fever, chills, sweating, anything. 

After about three or four days I got an appointment with my primary care physician. I went in to see him and he did a few blood tests and the blood tests all came back normal. And he was baffled, he really didn’t understand what was going on. I think he did a test for zika virus, that was going around at the time. I asked him if I could have mononucleosis and he was basically pretty stumped, and really didn’t have any recommendations to go forward. 

So, I went home, I got back on the couch, and when I still felt the same way after a week, I called up another appointment and found that he was on vacation. So I went to see one of his colleagues and she did some more blood tests. And at that visit I said to her, “When someone starts feeling like this just out of the blue your mind goes to very dark places”. I said, “Could I have something like leukemia?” and she said, “Oh no”. And that was that.  Basically I felt cut adrift and the message was it’s too bad to be you. There’s another version of that that I won’t say.

And then after about two weeks, I started to feel better. The fatigue went away, I got back on my bike, and was able to go to work and be productive. So I just sort of shrugged my shoulders that this is just one of those strange things that doctors aren’t able to explain.

Then, probably about February or March of 2015, I started getting some pains in my neck. If I pulled over a sweatshirt and it caught on my head, I’d get a pretty serious pain in my neck. And as a couple of months pass, this pain got worse, especially when I rode my bike. And I thought well maybe it’s from all this bike riding and having my neck in a strange position. 

So I didn’t really follow up at that time. About maybe in June, I went back to my primary care physician and told him about my neck and he sent me for an x-ray at that time. No other imaging, just an x-ray. And he told me that I had minor disc degeneration in my neck and that physical therapy would probably take care of it. So he sent me the physical therapy, and I did physical therapy for a couple of weeks and this pain in my neck did not get any better at all. And then one night I was walking my dog, and I got a, how can I describe it, it was a numb feeling down my left arm. It wasn’t really painful, felt a little electrical maybe, and I knew that wasn’t a good thing. 

So I called up the advice nurse, she had an on-call physician call me back. He said you have to go in for an MRI and I’m going to set that up for you in the morning. In the morning, I went for the MRI and when I got out of the tube I went over to the technician who’d done the test and I said what do you see? And his face turned ashen, basically. And he said well I don’t interpret these you know, I just run the machine and you need to see your doctor. It turned out I had a solid tumor in my neck between C4 and C5, about the size of a walnut, and it was pressing on my spinal cord. And I got a call shortly thereafter from my primary care physician who said you need to go see a head and neck specialist and I’ve got that set up for you. And it went in to see him and he said yeah I’m sorry to tell you that you have what appears to me to be multiple myeloma. 

So at that stage, I’m sure that I had had this for about a year. And in addition to the tumor in the neck, I had I guess they call them lytic lesions, I had what are essentially smaller tumors in my ribs and on my sternum. They did a PET scan and it’s pretty widespread. And they said the first thing that you need to do is to get radiation therapy to get rid of this tumor in your neck. The head and neck specialist that I saw said that it was very likely that we could get rid of the tumor and he said oh and you’ll be back on your bike in no time. 

I felt like that was maybe true or maybe not true, that he was doing his best to encourage me that this wasn’t the end of the world, and of course, I was devastated. I went for radiation therapy for the tumor, I had ten treatments. To make a long story short, the radiation was very successful. I’m going to have to otherwise describe it as it melted the tumor away. It was gone and the next phase was going to be chemotherapy. 

I was assigned to an oncologist through my health plan, and I don’t want to be culturally insensitive in talking about this, but his English was not his second… first language. And I had a very hard time understanding him, especially on phone calls where I couldn’t understand him at all. I was feeling pretty down at that point because my primary care physician hadn’t followed up with me, and now I have an oncologist that I’m having problems communicating with, and they provided me with what seemed to me like a cookie cutter – this is the plan that we put everybody through type of chemotherapy.

I wanted to find out much more about it, so I’m very fortunate to have a sister who’s an MD and at the time, before her retirement, she worked at Montefiore Hospital in New York. I called her and she said well I’m good friends with an oncologist here and I want you to talk to him, which I did and his name is Shalom Kalnicki at Montefiore. And he became what we started to call my New York team and I bounce things off of him. The first thing he said was you really do need to get a second opinion and I’m going to set you up at another health provider that I have a lot of confidence in, that I’ve known people there for years. He said I wouldn’t take the chemotherapy that they’re suggesting until you talk to them. 

Well that was…I got an appointment for the second opinion, but it was about a month away. That was an agonizing month because I knew I had these lesions, that I had myeloma, and I wanted to  jump on it and get immediate treatment, but I didn’t. I waited. I went in and the physician I saw at the second Health Plan, I really liked a lot and she spent a lot of time with me. She looked at some of the other tests that had been done, and basically said yeah your health plan is on the right track, I would go ahead and start it. So I did, but again I frankly felt that if I stayed with my health plan and they were going to kill me.That I was sort of a cog in the wheel, that they basically treated everybody the same way, whether that’s true or not, I don’t know, but that’s how I felt.

And as it happens, August of 2015 and I was turning 65 in September. And it turned out that turning 65 and becoming medicare-eligible, was what they call a qualifying event to change your health plans outside of Open Enrollment. I have to credit CalPERS for that because I went to see them about what my possibilities might be ‘cause I didn’t want to wait till January to get a new Health Plan through Open Enrollment. A woman there was extremely helpful and she told me this information, and so I did change in September I got onto a new health plan that I had been in many years ago that I really liked. What CalPERS had removed from their list of approved providers because of cost, but at that point, they were back. So, I got back in this plan that I’ve been in many years ago, got hooked up with a terrific hematologic oncologist September 1st, and started working with him.

I wound up getting an autologous stem-cell transplant in February of 2016, about 5 years ago, and it produced…I was in the hospital for two weeks. The other health plan that I had been in, if I had a stem-cell transplant through them, they were going to send me 90 miles away and it was an outpatient procedure. I would have had to stay in a rental apartment for 30 days. So, I felt really good about changing health plans. That’s a piece of advice I would give to people is to really do some research and find out in your area where the best providers are, who they are, and see if you can hook up with them. 

So after the stem-cell transplant, I had what they called a very good partial response. I was in remission for a year-and-a-half, at which time I didn’t need to be on any maintenance medications and felt great. I got back on the bike doing, you know, up to 50-mile rides and it was good.

But after a year-and-a-half, that was 2017, I relapsed and I had to go back on a chemotherapy regimen that was oral drugs. It was a 3-drug regimen and it kept my myeloma numbers down pretty significantly. Then I would say about a year ago, that regimen stopped working, which is very common, that I came to learn, in myeloma patients that you can go through many many many different treatment regimens during the course of your illness. 

So about a year ago, my oncologist switched me to a different regimen that required infusions. So now I’m on IV infusion 3 out of 4 weeks a month and they’re very, very effective on what I would call complete remission. These are Kyprolis, Darzalex, and Dexamethasone. The worst side effect is neuropathy, which is also I’ve learned very common in myeloma treatment. Most people get neuropathy. Mine’s not too bad and it’s mostly in my feet and doesn’t prevent me from riding or walking and doesn’t affect my balance, so I feel, again, pretty fortunate there.

We’re going to stay on that regimen until it too stops working which seems to be inevitable, but I’m very encouraged by lots of the research going on for new myeloma treatments. So I guess, most people know there’s no cure, but they call it manageable and that brings me to the present.


Read more patient stories here.

Living with a Cancer Diagnosis Amid the Pandemic


Living With a Cancer Diagnosis Amid the Pandemic from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Empowered patients, Honora Miller and Barry Marcus, share what it has been like living through a pandemic while being immunocompromised because of their multiple myeloma diagnosis.


Transcript

Barry Marcus:

I have really never hesitated from telling people that I have cancer and I’m immunocompromised and it wouldn’t be a good idea for me to get together with them and people understand that. They know what kind of times were in so I feel like I haven’t really put myself at risk, I have gone out to dinner a few times at restaurants that have outdoor seating, which is now pretty common in my area, and I’m also very fortunate to have gotten both doses of the Pfizer vaccine, so the interesting part of that is going to be whether I’m going to change my behavior because of that, I know I will continue to wear a mask, always when I go outside even though I’m now vaccinated.

Honora Miller:

Yeah, I have found it interesting actually, among a group of my friends, we meet via Zoom every Wednesday, and it’s been interesting to see over the course of the year that we’re now in this. They certainly know that I am compromised, but they forget, and so, of course, I’ve been directed very clearly that I need to do as much sheltering in place as possible to not go grocery shopping, to have things delivered, or my husband often goes grocery shopping and to really…you know, I can’t go to the gym. The gym has been opened a couple of times during this process, it opens and closes, but I can’t go to the gym, I need to do my exercise differently, I can’t go swimming, so there have definitely been changes and I have taken extra care because I’ve really been told in no uncertain terms that I need to. I’m a little anxious about when my son, who I have a high school student, he’s been having remote school when he goes back to school, if I haven’t been vaccinated yet, I’ve been told that I will need to quarantine from him, so we’re hoping that everything will coincide so that I don’t need to do that.

It requires ongoing planning, and I do have friends who have just spent ski week up and Tahoe, and they invited me to come and I can’t come. It’s not something I can do now, and I feel clear in my mind that this is a period of time where I need to not do things so that I can tell the tale later on, and what this experience was like Once COVID is over ’cause it will be.


Read the Full PEN-Powered Activity Guide VI

How Can You Overcome Hurdles in Your Health Journey?


How Can You Overcome Hurdles in Your Health Journey from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Empowered myeloma patients, Honora Miller and Barry Marcus, discuss the biggest hurdle they faced in their health journey and the importance of finding a healthcare team you are comfortable with.


Transcript

Honora Miller:

Hi, I’m Honora Miller, it’s my pleasure to be the Myeloma Network Manager for Patient Empowerment Network and I look forward to speaking with Barry Marcus.

Barry Marcus:

I’m Barry Marcus. I am 70 years old; I was diagnosed with myeloma in 2015. I am a retired Geologist, I worked for the sacrament of County Environmental Management Department for 20 years, and I’ve been retired since 2012. I think my biggest hurdle was finding an oncologist that I was very comfortable with that didn’t hesitate to give me all the information that I wanted, and it took me a while. When I first had my diagnosis, I was in a health plan where I had a very hard time understanding my oncologist, I didn’t have a lot of confidence in him, and I was able — because I had just turned 65 to get on Medicare and change health plans outside of the open enrollment process, and I was fortunate enough to find an oncologist that I now have complete confidence in, and I’ve been seeing him for four or five years now, and I wouldn’t want anyone else.

Honora Miller:

That’s great to hear that you have found someone you’re comfortable with. That makes such a difference. I found that for myself personally, the greatest challenge was to actually get diagnosed, I was comfortable with my medical providers, yet we didn’t know what was going on with me, and it was through their perseverance in tolerating my ongoing questions, they were really helpful in continuing to do testing, because we had no idea I had mild anemia that persisted and I had fatigue, and they had no idea what that was, and I was fortunate enough that I felt confident in those medical professionals that when I did get a diagnosis, through a lot of perseverance I felt like, okay, we got to roll. The data showed that I needed to move quickly. I can’t imagine what I would have done in that moment if I didn’t feel comfortable with them.

Read the Full PEN-Powered Activity Guide VI

Is There Value in Seeking a Second Opinion?


Is There Value in Seeking a Second Opinion from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Empowered myeloma patients, Honora Miller and Barry Marcus, share the importance of getting a second opinion and how to navigate if you are reluctant to ask for another physician to review your case.


Transcript

Barry Marcus:

I sought out a second opinion right after my initial diagnosis, I knew very little about multiple myeloma when I was first diagnosed, and as I just mentioned, I didn’t have a lot of confidence in the doctors in my initial HMO, so I wanted to make sure just for myself and for the future, whether what they were proposing as a treatment plan made sense for me, and so I did seek out a second opinion and I was so glad that I did. It did give me a little bit more confidence in what the initial HMO was proposing because the doctor that I saw, said, Yeah, this is the correct thing to do for you. Now, since I’ve been with the same oncologist now for a number of years, I have gotten second opinions on things that he’s told me I wanted to do, and I did have to overcome my initial reluctance to do that for kind of fear of hurting his feelings or thinking that maybe he wouldn’t like me as much after that, but in speaking with many of the infusion nurses, they say it’s quite common and the doctors don’t mind at all, and it’s really something that I need to do to feel like I’m getting the best course of treatment.

Honora Miller:

I have found too that in speaking with people that same reluctance around not wanting to hurt feelings, but indeed the doctors themselves, I’ve have talked about it directly with my doctor, it’s so common at a practice. It’s just part of their world. Of course, we don’t know that and we’re trying to be sensitive, but they’re not concerned about it at all. In fact, even changing doctors, they don’t even blink at it because they’ve got so many patients that they don’t concern themselves when you decided to move on to a different doctor, ’cause I have changed doctors when I didn’t feel like it was the right fit, oncologists, and that has been a really good thing to do when I didn’t feel comfortable.

When I didn’t feel, I guess it was as a result of COVID, it kind of gave me like another lens to look at my relationship with my doctor and my comfort level, ’cause I’ve had several oncologists, several of them have moved on. Once I realized, okay, this is living with myeloma during COVID, do I feel comfortable with this oncologist being my doctor that I was realizing, no, okay, I need to switch doctors till I feel comfortable, and I did get a referral within the same practice of a different oncologist, and I’m so happy that I did that, ’cause it makes all the difference.

We communicate much more easily, and I feel like if anything goes on with COVID, like I could rely on him to make some good decisions around my health.

Barry Marcus:

One of the things that I’ve come to realize is that treating myeloma is just as much an art as it is a science, and there is no one-size-fits all for any patient, and if I get a suggestion from a second doctor, I bring it back to my primary oncologist, he’s been very accepting of it and willing to consider making some changes maybe that I got from seeking out a second opinion. So, I feel like I’ve been fortunate in that.


Read the Full PEN-Powered Activity Guide VI

Patient Profile: Lisa Hatfield Part V

This completes a five-part series from empowered multiple myeloma patient Lisa Hatfield. (Read Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV) In Lisa’s candid and compelling telling of her cancer journey, she shares her story from diagnosis in 2018 to how she lives well with cancer in 2021. Lisa provides thoughtful feedback about becoming an empowered patient and the value of Patient Empowerment Network as a resource, and she offers her advice to anyone newly diagnosed with cancer: Learn, Breathe, Feel, Share, Live, Connect, and Hope. In Part One Lisa tells her story. In Part Five Lisa concludes her advice to newly diagnosed cancer patients through example by sharing her own experiences, connecting to readers, and offering hope for herself and others.


Share

Not in a million years did I think I’d post an open, raw account of my cancer experience. Not one to share personal trials, other than the occasional “it’s been a long week,” I still find it surprising that I yearn for an hour to post on a website dedicated to people sharing stories about health challenges.

My decision to share came quickly, as my kids were in middle and high school at the time of my diagnosis. My diagnosis, paired with the word “incurable,” frightened me and my family. Rather than questions directed at them, I chose to notify their schools and my close friends and family about my diagnosis, requesting that questions come to me. In exchange for our daughters maintaining a normal school routine, we decided to share details by posting to a secure website, to keep those close to us informed.

Choosing to unveil your journey is deeply personal. Besides a gratitude journal, I’ve never been one to document my activities, thoughts, feelings. While in Houston, Lance set up a CaringBridge site. Prior to the first journal entry, I methodically moved in and out of appointments, listening, and absorbing the words. I was shocked, scared, numb, and out of my body. It only took a few keystrokes before emotions were unleashed. Journaling and sharing allow time to reflect. Not all entries are shared publicly. It can be highly cathartic just to write. Share with your journal alone or share with others. Occasional sharing with others is both unifying and comforting, as friends and family find a common thread to tie your diagnosis with their experiences. Sharing provides connection, and leaves you feeling less alone.

The degree to which you share your trials, tribulations, and triumphs, and when, is up to you.

Connect

One of my favorite books is The Blue Zones, by Dan Buettner. Buettner first released an article in National Geographic, then published his book on the “blue zones.” I’m summarizing this in my own words, but the blue zones refer to geographic regions around the globe that have the highest percentage of centenarians, who also have a good quality of life in their later years. These locations include Loma Linda, Sardinia (good reason for a trip to Italy), Ikaria (reason to visit Greece, too), and several other locations. In his research, Buettner discovered that the culture in these areas integrate physical and social health as parts of everyday life. Things like unintentional exercise (like walking to the market or cleaning), eating native/local foods, and at the top of the list, strong social connections. It reminded me of my grandma who used to have “coffee hour,” more like 3 hours, with her neighbors each week. They loved their weekly gatherings, often bonding over their health ailments, as they aged. I believe that each of them had a better quality of life because of those regular visits.

Upon diagnosis, a friend sent an email that ended with, “Lean hard and lean often.” He wanted us to rely on our network to get through the challenge ahead. Depending on others is incredibly difficult for many people, including me. When a neighbor set up a meal calendar, I was overwhelmed with the response and felt guilty about the possibility of burdening others and their time. She explained it like this: do it for others; let us cook meals; to allow others to provide something to you alleviates their feelings of helplessness. I am so grateful I accepted. As the fatigue swept in, my ability to cook, let alone stand for more than 2 minutes, vanished. My family loved the meals, and we’ve since collected recipes and voted on our favorites (all meals were excellent) that we fix monthly. Though a note on the sign-up sheet advised the chefs to place meals by our front door, as not to disturb us, I anxiously waited by the door every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Swinging the door open and greeting our friends was the highlight of my day. My energy lasted about 5 minutes, on a good day, but it felt so powerful and good to collapse on the couch after experiencing that connection.

Connection with others is important; however, connecting to anything can uplift: your animals (dogs, cats, birds, horses etc.,); your environment (sitting outside or gardening); your routine (sipping a warm cup of coffee in the morning or an evening walk); your faith/beliefs/thoughts. We are wired to connect. To belong, love, and be loved is on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, a theory in psychology made up of a five-tier model of human needs. Connection is key to improved well-being, both physical and emotional. Who knows? You might conquer cancer and join the circle of Buettner’s centenarians. It’s worth the effort to connect.

Hope

While reading this same book, I was introduced to the concept of “ikigai.” (Icky-guy). Ikigai is a Japanese term that roughly means a person’s “reason for being.” As Buettner discusses in his books, TED talks, and articles, Ikigai is bigger than just something you want to do as a service; a person never feels obligated or forced into the purpose. It is something that gives value to a person’s life, as it gives life meaning. It is the reason you get up in the morning. When I began each of my cancer treatments, I wondered why I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and why I had to endure biopsies, radiation, surgery, chemo, and stem cell transplant (collection). Each new treatment comes with a renewed sense of fear and uncertainty.

Hope is often elusive, during a cancer battle. As a myeloma patient, the word “incurable” was the vacuum that sucked the hope from my spirit. Infusions were a part-time job, as I spent half a week in the chemo suite for six months. I appreciated the openness of the chemo suite, chairs side-by-side and few closed curtains. I loved going to chemo. It felt safe. It was in the chemo chair where I heard stories of both hopelessness (from failed chemo, metastasis, fear of pain, suffering, and death) and of hopefulness (seeing family, a chemo break, a provider sharing a new study showing dramatically improved outcomes, a new drug approval, good test results, a random stranger saying, “I believe,” and connecting with friends). Hope is found in comments from your care team, friends, family, and strangers. Hope is in your experiences (“manufactured hope” from steroids counts, too). Hope is in your faith, however that manifests in your life, and in the belief that something bigger than you can help you fight cancer. Relish moments of hope…of yours and of others. Write them down when you can and, on occasion, reread them.

Now that I’m further along in my cancer journey and in pseudo-remission, I contemplate: Why…what is the purpose of this? What am I supposed to do with everything I’m learning from this? How can I use this to do something productive or meaningful? I don’t know the purpose yet, but when Lance and I talk, we know there is something more to it. This search for purpose is what gives me hope, now. I know there is a purpose in this experience that we will figure out. My ikigai. Our ikigai. I hope we can do something good.


Read more patient stories here.

How Will Telemedicine Impact Multiple Myeloma Clinical Trials?

How Will Telemedicine Impact Multiple Myeloma Clinical Trials? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo

What impact has telemedicine had on multiple myeloma clinical trials, and what effect will it have on trials in the future? Expert Dr. Joseph Mikhael explains the impact of telemedicine early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, how he uses virtual visits with his patients currently, and the role and benefits of telehealth in the future of myeloma care.

See More From the Myeloma TelemEDucation Empowerment Resource Center

Related Resources:

 

Are There Any Barriers for Multiple Myeloma Patients Using Telemedicine?

Will Telemedicine Be an Advantage for Multiple Myeloma Patients?

What Multiple Myeloma Populations Will Benefit from Telemedicine?

 

Transcript:

Dr. Joseph Mikhael:

COVID-19 has impacted our lives in just about every way imaginable, and in multiple myeloma, sadly has very much impacted our ability to conduct clinical trials. Thankfully, now that we are out of the immediate acute phase when many trials were suspended, we actually have been able to work around this in general, where now we’ve been able to re-introduce studies and bring in new studies, of course, and we can do so in a more careful manner. Many of our clinical trials now are allowing intermittently to have telemedicine visits, which reduces the traffic for patients and makes it a little bit smoother. Some of the questionnaires and the things that we used to have to fill out on paper or physically in-person now can be done electronically, and so I think in many respects, we’ve really overcome most of the barriers so that we can continue the outstanding work and clinical trials to provide options for our patients that were not available before.

And looking to the future, I hope, even paradoxically in some way that this may — now that we’ve developed a more sophisticated telemedicine platform — it may allow us to do more and perhaps reach patients that may not have been reached before, there are already studies and trials that are being done through telemedicine, not necessarily a drug trial but quality of life studies, engagement studies, educational studies, different ways that we can enhance a patient’s experience and investigate better ways of doing things now that we can do so more fully electronically.

So, when I think of telemedicine and the future in multiple myeloma, I think it will continue to have a role in the long term. I think, much like people think that there will be more virtual meetings, I think we all want to get back to in-person meetings of various types and sizes and shapes, there will always be a component of virtual, and I can think even in my own practice and some patients that have quite a long drive to come down to see me, that they will still have to have face-to-face visits, but intermittently when the things are going well, follow-up like visits where the discussion may be limited.

I think there will be a role for this so that we can leverage the best of telemedicine and the best of in-person medicine so that the patients can receive the best care possible.

What Multiple Myeloma Populations Will Benefit From Telemedicine?

What Multiple Myeloma Populations Will Benefit Most From Telemedicine? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo

Which multiple myeloma patients will benefit most from telemedicine visits, and which patients can get more from in-person visits? Dr. Joseph Mikhael shares information on how to ensure the best myeloma care even during pandemic restrictions and how in-person visits have adjusted to limit COVID exposure risk.

See More From the Myeloma TelemEDucation Empowerment Resource Center

Related Resources:

 

Are There Any Barriers for Multiple Myeloma Patients Using Telemedicine?

What Are Best Practices for Multiple Myeloma Patients Utilizing Telemedicine?

How Will Telemedicine Impact Multiple Myeloma Clinical Trials?

 

Transcript:

Dr. Joseph Mikhael:

When it comes to making a decision around, do I need to go into the clinic or can I do this as a telemedicine visit, of course, that has to be discussed with the healthcare team, but a few things we’ve learned through this pandemic.

And perhaps one of the most important things we’ve learned through the pandemic is that controlling one’s disease, controlling one’s myeloma is critical to protecting people against COVID, sadly, many of our patients who have struggled the most with COVID are those who had very active myeloma. So, we emphasize the importance of making sure that one continues to receive the best myeloma care possible, and very often that is going to involve an in-person visit, not only for discussion, but, of course, for the actual receiving of treatment. Secondly, I think it’s very important for us to note that we really have not seen significant spread of COVID or almost any infection within our hematology-oncology clinics, we’ve taken particular precaution around this area. So, this is different than someone maybe going out to a more public place where the risks may be higher. And so, we try to reassure our patients that coming into clinic actually is really not a high-risk situation and, in fact, perhaps lower risk than ever in light of the fact that many of our waiting areas and places where we have patients have been restructured and have fewer patients because of telemedicine visits.

And then thirdly, and very importantly, whether it’s telemedicine or in-person, it’s really important to maintain open, honest, and clear communication with the healthcare team. And if that is felt that it’s being done to a certain extent in telemedicine, fantastic, but there are situations where it’s challenging and difficult and really must be face-to-face. And so I would want to encourage my patients not to be afraid to go in to receive treatment and to meet with their healthcare team. These are generally very safe places that we take special precautions to ensure their patients can receive the best care possible.

Are There Any Barriers for Multiple Myeloma Patients Using Telemedicine?

Are There Any Barriers For Multiple Myeloma Patients Using Telemedicine? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo

Along with all the benefits of multiple myeloma care via telemedicine, there are some obstacles that providers run into as well. Myeloma expert Dr. Joseph Mikhael details his experience with telehealth barriers in caring for his patients.

See More From the Myeloma TelemEDucation Empowerment Resource Center

Related Resources:

 

Will Telemedicine Be an Advantage for Multiple Myeloma Patients?

What Are Best Practices for Multiple Myeloma Patients Utilizing Telemedicine?

How Will Telemedicine Impact Multiple Myeloma Clinical Trials?

 

Transcript:

Dr. Joseph Mikhael:

So there are several limitations to telemedicine, despite better technology and camera strength and Wi-Fi, and we’re removing all those distractions, it really is limited by not being able to physically be present with a patient, which means we can’t examine patients, which means we can’t hug our patients, I’m a hugger as an oncologist, I like to get close to my patients, and then of course, there are those things that don’t always convey themselves easily over a camera or a computer.

The emotion in the room, the tension, the fear, many of my patients experience fear being cancer patients, and so telemedicine can be very helpful when we have more straightforward follow-ups and questions, but initially building a bond with the patient and having very considerable discussions about one’s treatment and on symptoms, it is always going to be limited in a telemedicine capacity

What Are Best Practices for Multiple Myeloma Patients Utilizing Telemedicine?

What Are Best Practices for Multiple Myeloma Patients Utilizing Telemedicine? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What are some ways that patients and providers can make the most of multiple myeloma telemedicine visits? Dr. Joseph Mikhael shares things that he has found helpful in interacting via telehealth visits with his patients and how he tries to approach different types of visits.

See More From the Myeloma TelemEDucation Empowerment Resource Center

Related Resources:

 

Will Telemedicine Be an Advantage for Multiple Myeloma Patients?

What Multiple Myeloma Populations Will Benefit from Telemedicine?

How Will Telemedicine Impact Multiple Myeloma Clinical Trials?

 

Transcript:

Dr. Joseph Mikhael:

Well, the best practices for telemedicine are really going to depend on the nature of the clinic, the way the provider likes to interact with their patients, and the way the patients like to interact with them. I think one of the beauties of the multiple platforms we have is that we can leverage them, that beautiful connection that we develop between a physician or a provider and their patient, we can continue obviously not to the same extent that using electronic means, and so I’ve really tried to make sure that I don’t look at this as a half visit or as a partial visit.

I think psychologically is my first important tip that we look at this as another very important physician-patient interaction. Secondly, I try to make sure that my patients are comfortable with this modality, that we’ve had time to work through the technology, so we’re not worrying about who’s on mute, who’s not on mute, so that when we discuss things, we can discuss things properly, and that thirdly, we as much as possible, try to engage a full visit, whether a family member is going to be with the patient, whether a nurse practitioner, a nurse or pharmacist is going to join me on this side, that we really try to reproduce what we know works well in the clinic.

So, that the patient can feel comfortable so that they can be heard, because sometimes it’s difficult when you’re on the other side of a computer or phone to really be heard.

So psychologically, being prepared for this and getting into the specifics of making sure we’re comfortable with the technology, and then thirdly, really as much as possible, trying to reproduce that magic that we feel like when we have a face-to-face interaction.

Will Telemedicine Be an Advantage for Multiple Myeloma Patients?

Will Telemedicine Be An Advantage for Multiple Myeloma Patients? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo

With the rise of telemedicine into multiple myeloma care options, unforeseen benefits have occurred along with those that are well-documented. Dr. Joseph Mikhael shares what he’s experienced in caring for his patients.

See More From the Myeloma TelemEDucation Empowerment Resource Center

Related Resources:

 

What Are Best Practices for Multiple Myeloma Patients Utilizing Telemedicine?

Are There Any Barriers for Multiple Myeloma Patients Using Telemedicine?

What Multiple Myeloma Populations Will Benefit from Telemedicine?

 

Transcript:

Dr. Joseph Mikhael:

The pandemic, both in the short term and the long term has really revolutionized much of what we’re doing in medicine, telemedicine is one of those areas. It’s, despite all the challenges that we faced of social isolation, it really has given us an opportunity to not only see patients who we may not have already seen but also allow us to develop a relationship with patients where we can determine when is it best and needed truly to be seen in-person. And when can we do visits by telemedicine, allowing the patient to have less travel time and the challenges of coming to the clinic and allowing us to keep our clinics limited to those patients that genuinely need to be seen face-to-face. So it’s really now been a wonderful adjunct to the way we care for patients, doing so continuously in a human fashion, but also leveraging the technology and that we can use for this.

Patient Profile: Lisa Hatfield Part IV

This is Part Four in a five-part (Read Part I, Part II, and Part III) series from empowered multiple myeloma patient Lisa Hatfield. In Lisa’s candid and compelling telling of her cancer journey, she shares her story from diagnosis in 2018 to how she lives well with cancer in 2021. Lisa provides thoughtful feedback about becoming an empowered patient and the value of Patient Empowerment Network as a resource, and she offers her advice to anyone newly diagnosed with cancer: Learn, Breathe, Feel, Share, Live, Connect, and Hope. In Part One Lisa tells her story. In Part Four Lisa continues to share poignant and powerful advice based on her experiences one breath at a time.


Breathe

“You have cancer.” It takes your breath away, this phrase. Personally, the “limbo window,” from diagnosis to commencement of treatment was the most challenging. Uncertainty debilitates, terrifies, suffocates. One day at a time is too much to fathom. Take one breath at a time. Work up from there.

Feel

As I stood up from the exam room stool to leave, Dr. Mike handed me two papers. A prescription for anti-depressants and a prescription for anti-anxiety medications. “You’ll need these,” he said. I didn’t feel depressed or anxious, just numb and hollow. My only thought was whether or not I’d be around to see our daughters graduate. Given the prognosis and life expectancy for myeloma, that prospect seemed unlikely. No anger, no sadness. Just numb and breathless…again.

Shock was the first emotion. Each visit with a new provider, first the neurosurgeon, then the radiation oncologist, medical oncologist, stem cell oncologist, amped up the shock. The final cherry on top was the financial coordinator. The stem cell transplant price tag is $350,000 to $600,000.

A cancer diagnosis and accompanying uncertainty surrounding treatment, prognosis, and outcome, result in overwhelming waves of shock and fear. As the shock begins to wane, denial and questioning swiftly ride in, followed by anger, frustration, and sadness, in no particular order.

The grief cycle, usually reserved to describe feelings associated with losing a loved one, can also be applied to a cancer diagnosis. With a cancer diagnosis you lose your life routine as you knew it, and often lose hopes, dreams, and expectations. Cancer is terribly disruptive. Cancer patients feel shock, denial, anger, despair, depression, and acceptance, often sliding quickly from one feeling to another. There is no timeline for grief. Don’t feel obligated to create one. Just let yourself feel. No judgement, no time limits, no guilt, no apology. It’s okay to feel.

Live

I bought a self-serve ice cream machine in July. It’s a full-size, commercial grade machine on wheels and is parked in our garage. Not sure if it was the chemo or Covid isolation or the less-than-good news appointment I had that day that led me to pull the trigger on purchasing a used machine. Maybe it was the resulting desire to live every moment that cancer patients feel as we struggle with medication side effects, endless appointments, and the loss of life’s routine. Or the desire to deeply inhale every breath of life.

Anyway, the money spent on the machine was only a fraction of what we would have spent on a cancelled vacation. Once a week, we sanitized, set up, and filled the machine with vanilla and pineapple soft-serve mix (yes, it has a “twist” option, too). On our driveway, we could socially distance while enjoying ice cream with friends and neighbors. Ironically, chemo side effects seemed to lessen each time we started the process of setting up. I can’t wait for the weather to warm again.

When you’re feeling well, think of things that energize you. Past or present. Mine was memories of Dole Whip at Disneyland. It can be anything. Watching movies, sitting on a beach towel with a picnic, watching kids run around the neighborhood, going for a walk, writing, the ocean…the list is endless. Identify at least one activity that you can do and make it happen even if it requires soliciting the help of others and making some adaptations.

Live. As often and as big as you can.


Read Part V of Lisa’s story here.

 

Patient Profile: Lisa Hatfield Part III

This is Part Three of a five-part series (Read Part 1 and Part 2) from empowered multiple myeloma patient Lisa Hatfield. In Lisa’s candid and compelling telling of her cancer journey, she shares her story from diagnosis in 2018 to how she lives well with cancer in 2021. Lisa provides thoughtful feedback about becoming an empowered patient and the value of Patient Empowerment Network as a resource, and she offers her advice to anyone newly diagnosed with cancer: Learn, Breathe, Feel, Share, Live, Connect, and Hope. In Part Three Lisa uses her experiences to provide valuable advice about becoming an empowered patient through a willingness to learn and be open.


It’s true, knowledge is power. And it is empowering. There are so many ways to learn about your cancer, which allows you to feel that you have some control over your diagnosis. Learning from others is a great way to start, as we did with “R”, a stranger we met on an elevator at our local cancer center.

We met R a couple days after diagnosis. She was maybe five feet tall, give or take a couple inches…probably take. The elevator carried us one floor, from the main floor to the basement (I understand that radiation areas are better shielded in the basement, but it’s an awful locale for an oncologist’s office…dark, depressing, and deathly). This 20-second ride changed our lives, and quite possibly the length of mine.

My husband and I were obviously exhausted. Trying to determine the order of treatments (radiation, surgery, chemo, stem cell transplant) had us feeling like ping pong balls, bouncing back and forth, all the while worrying that my spine and spinal cord could fail at any moment. We wanted someone to tell us what to do. Information overload and miscommunications among providers left us too tired to think. We’d been mulling the idea of going to MD Anderson, but that task seemed much too daunting; not to mention that leaving our kids for a week (which morphed into a month) worried me. They were afraid, too; I needed to comfort them.

This random stranger, R, thanked us for holding the door. As the elevator door sealed shut, R gave us a stern look, “Which of you is getting zapped today?” Maybe this petite but fiery woman had some words of wisdom. Clearly, she had been going through something herself, as a large, patchy scar was evident on her neck. I explained that neither of us was going for radiation, just a radiation consult for me. Our quick elevator conversation extended for several minutes after we deboarded the elevator. She did have something to share: her story, and her words of wisdom. “Go,” she said…no, she demanded…we go to Houston for an expert consult. It was absolutely, the best decision we made during this entire journey. We were open to listening and learning as a result of desperation.

I am a researcher, and once I was under the influence of powerful steroids, I researched myeloma all night long (thank you, dexamethasone). Support groups for cancer patient and caregivers provide not only support, but educational opportunities. We’ve made lifelong friendships with our local myeloma support group and have found that it’s more a social hour than a support hour.

Learn from the entire care team. Oncologists are the cancer care “quarterbacks,” but the chemo nurses see much more of the side effects, standard and atypical, to know when to be concerned. Pharmacists are more likely to understand your bowels and digestive issues. Upon starting infusions, the oncology pharmacist introduced himself, “Hi, I’m Greg the pharmacist. I talk to people about drugs and poop. We talk openly and freely about poop. Let’s make that normal right now. How is pooping currently?”


Read Part IV of Lisa’s story here.

 

Patient Profile: Lisa Hatfield Part II

This is Part Two in a five-part series from empowered multiple myeloma patient Lisa Hatfield (read Part I of Lisa’s story here). In Lisa’s candid and compelling telling of her cancer journey, she shares her story from diagnosis in 2018 to how she lives well with cancer in 2021. Lisa provides thoughtful feedback about becoming an empowered patient and the value of Patient Empowerment Network (PEN) as a resource, and she uses her experience to offer her advice to anyone newly diagnosed with cancer: Learn, Breathe, Feel, Share, Live, Connect, and Hope. In Part Two Lisa emphasizes the importance of being an informed patient and discusses how she values the power of PEN.


Education is critical to anyone diagnosed with cancer. A cancer diagnosis is overwhelming; it’s okay to ask for help. Having an advocate, whether it’s the patient or another person, can change everything from treatments to outcome. As an example, we quickly learned that our local oncology community does not include a myeloma specialist. Seek an expert opinion. For myeloma, hematologists are well-qualified, but a myeloma specialist is top-notch. We researched, asked around, and discovered several centers with myeloma departments. Fortunately, we scheduled quickly and summoned the resources to travel. Like us, many patients do not live near a specialty center for their type of cancer. Financial resources, and logistical resources, such as finding care for children, pets, house, etc., can be daunting to consider. Friends and family want to help. Accept the help. Educating yourself, or having another conduct research on your behalf, can change your prognosis and outcome…and your outlook. It changed mine. My overall survival (a.k.a. lifespan) potentially increased from two to four years to eight to ten years, based on access to newer treatments and information from my myeloma specialist. Education empowers and boosts hope.

Cancer is hard. Treatment can be harder. Understanding your treatments and their accompanying side effects is critical. Living with pesky, sometimes debilitating, side effects is a significant burden to carry.

In addition to asking questions of your provider, consider participating in a support/education group that includes members with your same or a similar diagnosis. We belong to a local myeloma group and meet monthly with others battling myeloma and their family members. Relief from severe, drug-induced muscle spasms is the result of after-meeting conversations with a fellow “myeloman.” I’ve learned as much from them as I have from my care team. And we’ve made lifelong friends.

Lastly, take advantage of steroid-induced insomnia and spend sleepless nights perusing the internet, but be thoughtful with your sources. Forums, blogs, articles, clinical trials, medical journals, and testimonials are at your fingertips. I enjoyed searching clinical trials and peer-reviewed medical journal articles while on high-dose steroids, in the wee hours of the morning. Now, I prefer bedtime reading of blogs and patient forums, particularly those with inspirational accounts in the midst of adversity. The supply seems endless, from general cancer topics to specific.

Patient Empowerment Network (PEN) and other cancer-related websites have helped me achieve a better outcome by publishing information specific to my diagnosis. The articles provide basic information for the newly diagnosed and identify a methodical approach to dealing with myeloma, including how to access treatment and important information regarding treatment decisions. The staging of myeloma includes “risk categories” for different genetic mutations. Prior to treatment at MD Anderson, my risk category had not been addressed, and I only knew to ask about it from a cancer website. Identifying the risk category is important when determining the appropriate chemo regimen. My regimen changed once my risk category was assigned, and I believe that my good outcome (remission) is a result of having this knowledge and addressing it with my specialist.

PEN also publishes patient testimonials. I find these stories inspiring and comforting. I’ve also identified, with my doctor in Houston, new drugs to try at relapse (myeloma patients anticipate relapse and often work with the specialist to determine the next round of chemo) from patient stories. Knowing we are not alone and having a common bond, eases stress and fear. Alleviating some of the negative emotion surrounding diagnosis helps with overall well-being, and hopefully improves outcome.


Read Part III of Lisa’s story here.