Since he is younger, he outlook is better. It will come down to the type of MM (such as IGG Lambda etc) and how he responds to treatment.
Good news there are a LOT of treatment options now (compared to 10 years ago) and bad news is there are a lot of options so it is hard to know which one is “right”.
One good suggestion is for him to go to a local MM support group; there he can meet many MM patients and hear what their experience is to help him with options and to understand the side effects for each type of treatments. He also MUST see a MM Specialist – MM is too complicated a cancer for a general ONC; the anecdotal evidence I have seen is that specialist = longer survival.
It has improved over recent years and with his young age the outlook is much better than 10 years ago
he might be suitable for stem cell transplant but a lot depends on response to retatment, other medical problems and cytogenetic studies of the myloma cells
Since he is younger, he outlook is better. It will come down to the type of MM (such as IGG Lambda etc) and how he responds to treatment.
Good news there are a LOT of treatment options now (compared to 10 years ago) and bad news is there are a lot of options so it is hard to know which one is “right”.
One good suggestion is for him to go to a local MM support group; there he can meet many MM patients and hear what their experience is to help him with options and to understand the side effects for each type of treatments. He also MUST see a MM Specialist – MM is too complicated a cancer for a general ONC; the anecdotal evidence I have seen is that specialist = longer survival.
To find a local group: http://myeloma.org/SupportGroup.action?tabId=6&menuId=49&queryPageId=7
On the personal side; I know lots and lots of patients that are in that age group and were stage III that are doing fine, 3 5 and even 7 years later.
Good luck
Jewells
MM survivor for 6+ years