A recent Patient Power video caught my attention a few days ago, but I was caught up in my andrographolide research, so I ignored it until today. It’s titled “Can smoldering myeloma progress to full-blown myeloma?” The obvious answer is yes, it can, of course. We know that.

Here’s the link to the video, which has other interesting things, too: goo.gl/e3ksk1

At one point, Dr. Raje talks about a Harvard project, called the , during which MGUS and SMM patients used meditation and mindfulness to try to stop progressing to full-blown myeloma. The study’s main purpose is to look at the genomic profile of these patients to ascertain if meditation could actually change the genetics of myeloma progression. Isn’t that something?

Dr. Raje adds, don’t worry too much about your disease…makes common sense. And perhaps, with the data they are collecting from patients right now, we will soon have actual proof that stress can have an impact on our progression genes….Wowsie.

We know that stress plays a big role in myeloma. We’ve known that for quite a long time (remember the 2008 Ohio State study on myeloma progression and norepinephrine, = one of the stress hormones? Exactly…). Certainly at times it isn’t easy to reduce stress levels, and I myself am not always successful (life complications, you know!). But I try! And meditation really does help…It helps even to just close your eyes for a few minutes and visualize a beautiful country or place you’ve visited, an event that made you happy, whatever.

You don’t necessarily have to follow a course to learn how to meditate (I never have)…although you could, of course! I’ve found my own meditation method, mainly based on watching online videos, and it works well for me. Anyway…

But this is the first time I’ve heard a conventional myeloma doctor mention MEDITATION as a possible way of avoiding progression. And I didn’t know about this project…Something to keep an eye on, for sure…

Dr. Raje  added that their results would be presented at ASH later this year. So we have a while to wait. However, I did find this abstract, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in May of last year: goo.gl/68nYeq

This link informs us that the experiment has been going on for a while now, and that this meditation program REDUCED STRESS, indeed DISTRESS, “in participants with intermediate or high-risk MGUS and SMM…”

Boy, I’d love to participate in something like that. A slight, er, obstacle is that I live across the pond…! Oh well!!! I’d also love to hear from someone who might be in the program…

Time for dinner…Have to rush off…Take care, everyone! 🙂