Welcome to the SCT club. I was diagnosed 1992 and 1st transplant in 1996 after my 1st relapse. I have had 3 stem cell transplant and relapsed a few years after each one.
Just because you relapse does not mean you can give up.
My 1st dr did not give me much hope, I did not listen to him. I have survived over 30 years since 1st diagnosed.

Do Not Give Up
Keep up the Good Fight.
You may have set backs, but don’t give up. Have friends & family you can lean on, if you have a bad day. I averaged about 4 years between relapses.
Living with Multiple Myeloma is a pain in the ass but it’s not the end of the world. There are so many new medicines & treatments coming out all the time. I was very lucky when I had a relapse, there was a new medicine coming out that my body was not used to.

I wish you the best and
Please Keep Up the Good Fight

No one, in my opinion could predict when you might have a relapse. I am sure there are statistics out there for various patients and treatment regimes but really for each of us it is unknown. I have relapsed twice in the last 7 years and my current treatment finally has me very close to a zero m-spike. I am happy with that.

Hi Jenn, I was diagnosed in April 2019. Went into remission October 2019. In December 2019 I had my stem cells harvested and they are still frozen at IU. Never had a SCT and my MRD shows no MM cells. I’m currently on no maintenance but get labs drawn every 3-4 months. I feel great right now but I’m prepared for MM to possibly raise its ugly head again. I just pray they will find a cure for this horrible disease 🙏🏻 I know I’m very fortunate but many of you are not. I read about everyone’s pain and broken/fractured bones and I thank God everyday for how great I’m feeling. Praying for you Jenn and that you will remain in remission for many years to come! 🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻

@A MyMyelomaTeam Member is correct. It would be nice for the magic wand to be waived but there is no cure. Just stays of execution through our therapy appeals process. And the ASCT is an ancient method of relief in technological terms. The BMT team at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia has been transplanting stem cells over thirty years in a Henry Ford assembly line system. Patients in every day, 14 day grueling stay, back home to recover. What really pisses me off and this is important are 2 things! One, I couldn’t get a back to back tandem transplant because Medicare wouldn’t pay for it. That sticks in my crawl. Two, my oncologist said I cannot go on to other clinical trials until I have the second transplant. I must have so many lines of therapy before eligible for more advanced treatments like Car-T. Who rigs this system? We are dying and our doctors hands are tied by bureaucrats? It’s like Revlimid. If it’s given in the hospital it’s fully paid. But if it’s sent to your home you foot the bill. It’s rigged. Who rigged this?

In any event it’s all about the money. So I have to go through hoops before I get the care I need. But you know what? I’m happier than a pig in poop that I’m alive and doing better than I deserve with this bad blood.

Someday let’s talk about accountability and the fact that when you are physically, mentally, financially harmed by another individual or entity’s actions or inaction you should be entitled to justice, remuneration, compensation, etc. And the number one entity that causes the most problems with no recourse is the government. Case closed!

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A MyMyelo...

I lasted 5 years after my first SCT and 7 years after my second SCT and I would do it again in a heartbeat because the SCTs gave me 21 going on 22 years of fairly decent life.