Hi Viswanadhank, I didn't have a good response to induction treatments. I had an autologous transplant in 2017. It was a rough procedure. It took about 3 months to get my strength back. I have done pretty well since. Wishing you the best outcomes.

I had 2 Autologous SCTs and they gave me 12 years of fairly decent quality of life and I would do it again if I could but I am too old to be able to get one. It’s not an easy thing but it’s the heavy duty chemo that they give you before your transplant that kills your whole immune system and you have to be really careful about infection and it takes a very very long time to recover completely. It took me about at least 9 months to recover completely.

Finally, now in Dec 2023, Dana-Farber made a new Press Release stating that if a person has a Very Good to Complete Response - Do Not Get an ASCT (Transplant) because they've looked back at the damage the ASCT caused which is More Frequent Infections of a More Serious Nature.

In 2010, Dana-Farber started the Determination Clinical Trial. As they moved from Stage 1 to 2 to 3, based on their Results of Achieving a Longer Time before the First Remission, they convinced the FDA and Industry that everyone with MM must get a ASCT after Induction. During my Treatment in 2021, It was strenuously pushed-on-me but I said - No

Here's there Press Release - there's plenty of tech jargon to try to soften their message but they've finally admitted the procedure has too many downside (serious long term side effects). In their original Sales Pitch (2018 and earlier) they presented their Conclusions based solely on the very Worst Case Responses from the Clinical Trial.

https://www.dana-farber.org/newsroom/news-relea...

Even then, though they said - Longer before First Relapse (Progression Free Time), even the Worst Responders had a Longer Overall Survival Rate (OS). Basically, the Clinical Trial proved everyone lived longer without an ASCT (Transplant) but this very expensive medical procedure became the marching orders to the Industry.

That said, I've talked with a few that the ASCT saved their life, often getting dual ASCT back-to-back, due to a total failure of their bone marrow, even with blood transfusions. These Do-or Die cases are far less common.

DETERMINATION trial subgroup analysis suggests potential strategies for individualization of myeloma treatment | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

https://www.dana-farber.org/newsroom/news-releases/2023/determination-trial-subgroup-analysis-suggests-potential-strategies-for-individualization-of-myeloma-treatment