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Living with Multiple Myeloma in Hyderabad , India . Random musings .

Tag Archives: Hyderabad


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Living with Multiple Myeloma since 4 years

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It’s been exactly 4 years since the stem cells in my bone marrow started producing fresh and healthy white blood cells and other cells in the blood , while I was undergoing ‘Stem Cell Transplant’

In the BMT ward , each morning the nurse would take a blood sample to check my blood counts.
All of us were eagerly looking forward to the day when my stem cells would start creating various cells in the blood. The blood test on 1 Jan 2012 revealed the first few white blood cells .
A rebirth for me !

Am here now writing this after 4 years of that event. I am just 4 yrs old now 😉

A lot has happened since then.
There was a relapse in Dec 2014.
But thanks to Ayurvedic medication, I am now free of MM .

I am grateful to Lord Dhanvantari , the father of Ayurveda , who I met in the form of my Ayurvedic doctor.

Yes ‘Hope is Real’ .This was the slogan at Apollo Cancer Hospital in Hyderabad.
I could never comprehend the meaning when I was doing rounds for my check ups .
Those days I was sure this was a fatal disease. I was in a denial mode for two years, in a state of shock and moving around like dead.
But one day I had the courage to type the word ‘cancer’ on the keyboard. To look for information.
Spent a lot of time researching on cure for cancers. Didn’t believe what people wrote  and said on youtube about getting cured.
But I did a U Turn when I relapsed.
I told myself that I have to believe what was being said . That’s when I began to search further and dig deeper for information.
I zeroed in on ayurvedic methods and here I am, free of the disease for the last one year and confident that I will be free forever.

I had the hope and now strongly believe that ‘Hope is indeed Real’ .Hope can do wonders. Hope will show a way. Hope heals and Hope is the cure.


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My ‘Curcumin Regimen’ and other Natural supplements for Multiple Myeloma

I have been using the following Natural supplements since 2 months ,inspired by Margaret . Some i have included based on other research  . I am confident that these natural supplements are doing a great job .
1. Haridra (Circuma Longa/Turmeric) 400mg from Himalaya  – 2-3 times a day
2. ‘Flaxseed oil’ capsules 500mg from Sri Sri Ayurveda – along with Haridra
3. ‘Garlic oil’ capsules 500mg from Sri Sri ayurveda – 2 times a day ( self discovery . noticed that severe itching in my throat because of Lenalidomide subsides with Garlic)
4. ‘Ashwagandha’ capsules (Withania somnifera)  250mg from Himalaya – 2 times a day
5. ‘Guduchi’ capsules 250mg (Tinaspora cordifolia) from Himalaya – 2 times (advised by my Oncologist)
6. ‘Shigru’ capsules 250mg (Moringa pterygosperma) from Himalaya 250mg – 2 times a day
7. Amla candy (Goose Berry , rich in Vit C ) 4-5 pieces – 2 times a day .
8. Every morning i drink ginger (one inch piece)  decoction to which Lemon juice (quarter lemon) and turmeric powder (from my kitchen) is added.
9. At times i replace ginger decoction with decoction made with leaves of Simarouba Glauca (There is a post on this in my blog ) I add Turmeric powder (from the spice rack in my kitchen 🙂 ) and lemon juice.
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Apart from the above i continue to take the following Allopathic medications as per the advise of my Oncologist and Physician :
1. Renerve (Methylcobalamin ie B12)– One per day
2. Antoxid HC (Beta carotene,Selenium,Zinc Sulphate,Manganese , Copper) – One per day
3. Calferon plus ( Calcium,D3 (Vit D) )- 2 times
4. Acivir (Anti viral)- 800mg (one every alternate day)
5. Lenangio (Lenalidomide) – 5mg ( one per day)
6. Dexorange (Hematinic syrup) – once or twice a day whenever my Hb count is below 11
7. Ecosprin 75mg (Aspirin) – One per day after lunch
Have been using the above for 2 months . I feel energetic, my constant muscle pains have disappeared , I feel less anxious.
My current results are M spike : Not seen and Plasma cells < 1% .


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M spike – Not seen !!

My Bone Marrow test results , 4 months after changing to Lenalidomide from Thalidomide , are out.

For 3 yrs prior to Dec 2014 , post Autologous Stem Cell transplant in Jan 2012 ,  i had been taking 50 mg and 100mg of Thalidomide.

My hubby , dad and I went to the hospital yesterday , to pick up the reports.

We were very apprehensive as to what the results would be. We opened the reports while walking towards the lift and saw the words ‘M spike – Not seen’ . Whatever that implied !!??

My Bone marrow aspiration was done exactly 5 days ago and that day i had asked my doctor about M spike ,what it meant and what should be the ideal value. He said that the value is ‘zero’ in a healthy individual.

When we showed the reports to my doctor , he said that the results are absolutely fantastic. ‘Not seen’ implies the M spike is ‘zero’ . He was extremely happy for us and we were very excited. The plasma cells too were less than 1% which was 10-12% 4 months ago ( a relapse)

I asked him if Lenalidomide is the reason, he replied ‘ you are responding very well to Lenalidomide’

In Dec 2014 my doc had said ‘ Sorry, you may have to be prepared for another round of SCT after 3 months’ and yesterday he said ‘No worry , we need not do the SCT now ,we can postpone till we reach 25 mg of Lenalidomide which is available in 5 mg , 10 mg, 15 mg, 20 mg and 25 mg and it may be 2 yrs or 5 yrs before we reach that dosage’

For now he told me to get back after 2 months with CBP , LFT and RFT reports.

Dad was so excited , he called up Mom and Sis and updated immediately.

Hubby immediately opened the first BMA report after 6 months of my transplant and showed us that the latest report is the best ever. The results even after the transplant were not as good as they are now 🙂

We thanked the doctor and the Almighty and came home.

We hadn’t mentioned the Alternative natural products that i had been using for the last 45 days.

I had discussed these during my visit last month when i went to show the CBP,LFT,RFT reports.

He had said i can go ahead with these products and that he is not against alternative treatments. His reply gave me a lot of relief.

I strongly believe that using natural supplements and immune boosting foods did have a major role in bringing down the M spike and plasma cells.

Will write all about my Ayurvedic protocol , inspired by Margaret , in detail in my next mail.

I am so excited that i wish to scream to the world about my Ayurvedic discovery and share with other patients suffering with Multiple Myeloma.

Here is an interesting article on Circumin( Turmeric) and Multiple Myeloma

http://www.myelomabeacon.com/news/2010/02/17/curcumin-and-multiple-myeloma-preclinical-and-early-clinical-studies-are-promising-still-awaiting-more-clinical-evidence/


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Visit to a farm near Sivanagar in Telangana – Simple pleasures of life.

Who wouldn’t love to go on a long drive to a place surrounded by lush greenery , away from the hustle bustle of the city life. This time it was a drive to Peddakanjerla, Amdoor , Sivanagar via Inole along with my sister, mom , a colleague and her hubby. The place is about 10 km from the Outer ring road in Hyderabad to the North of Patancheru . We had unusual rains for a few days last week though it is summer during this part of the year. These rains helped the grass grow and it was like a green carpet all over. We came across golden paddy fields which were ready to be harvested.

A garden caught our attention,  we saw lots of Bottle-gourds hanging from trellis . 2015-04-20 17.15.19 This was near Sivanagar . Our driver was speeding and i screamed STOP ! STOP ! STOP !! 🙂

We stopped outside the gate . We saw a small house behind the gate . We honked , hoping to see someone and a couple came out of the small house and stood behind the gate. We asked , from inside the car, if we can buy a few bottle-gourds. They nodded , went in and brought the key to the gate and let us in. We were thrilled. Why not !!? 🙂 we were lucky that the couple let us in .Who wouldn’t love to stroll around a field. As we stepped in we could smell the sweet flavours of Jackfruit and sapota/Chickoo. There were a few of these trees adjacent to the fence .

The woman quickly plucked a few roses from a nearby bush and handed one to each of us. That was a rosey welcome 🙂 We moved closer to the Bottle gourd plants and saw hundreds of them hanging from a trellis built at height of 7 feet from the ground. The plants were watered using Drip irrigation. See the black pipes at ground level in the pic below ?

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Felt good watching little chicken running around their mother in the field . The caretaker was highly enthusiastic and explained how the plants are grown.

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The couple plucked a few bottle-gourds , sapotas and curry leaves from the farm and packed them for us. When we asked how much we should pay , they hesitated and wanted us to pay whatever we wished . They were so eager to give us all the stuff 🙂

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They wanted us to go around the whole place . There were mango trees too and said we should visit again 🙂 We were a little curious as to how they make their living and they said that the owner gives a fixed amount at the beginning of the year along with some rice.

Felt so good to spend some time there and my feet refused to turn back.

This is the team that visited the farm.

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The caretakers were too shy to pose for the camera 🙂 but i insisted. That’s Mom, the caretaker and me.

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The sun was beginning to set , it was time to go back home and bid farewell to the smiling couple . 2015-04-20 17.47.44

As our vehicle got closer to the city , we got immersed in the noisy world of vehicles , concrete and pollution the greenery and simple people/life were left behind . I feel energized and the memories will continue to energize till we go on another drive.