Believes my best chance at long term remission is Car T therapy. Have any of you had car t and did you have Carvikty ? I had my T cells harvested last week and will start the whole process in September.
Answer Summary
Members rallied around Gary as he prepared for CAR-T therapy using Carvykti after his myeloma returned following a stem cell transplant, with... Read more
@A MyMyelomaTeam Member, Gary do your research as with the new meds out you more than likely don’t need to go through the CAR T-cell. I’d ask what your options are. There has been just a recent approved med that is supposed to give really good results. It was posted somewhere on this site. Also, ask what you have to do after the procedure. I hate to hear people go through this when the new meds work so well. I sure wish you all the best!
Gary, like Jeff said, do your research. The Healthtree Foundation website has some videos on the side effects of car t therapy and other immunotherapies. I have been reviewing the side effects of car t and bispecifics. We need to be informed to be able to make the right decisions. Iberdomide just got approved. I'm glad we have options.
Thank you all for your comments. One of the beauties about car t is no more cancer meds after. I’m willing to take that chance. I’ve read on the new meds like the 2 combination of shots, the side effects of the one shot are terrible. If you are a praying person I’d appreciate your prayers.
Hi Gary - hope I'm not too late to the party. I started Tecvayli/Teclistamab the first week of July. After an unexpected hospital visit on July 25, the team checked my myeloma labs. The good news - my lambda light chain number came down significantly, as well as my IgA number. During the hospital stay, the attending suggested we add Darzalex to the treatment, which they did in August. I believe I have had 3 of the combination treatments. I'm uncertain when they will recheck the MM labs, but I imagine in a couple of week. Please note the 2nd hospital stay had nothing to do with Teclistamab. A nasty MM lesion had found its way into my spinal canal causing stenosis and pain. I've had myeloma 10 years, so it appears I'm in the same ballpark playing a different game now. I have prayed for acceptance, which has brought peace.
That being said, Tec-Dara is a much easier road than a stem cell transplant, because I have done both now. However, all myeloma diagnoses are very individualized. Consult your Care Team and pray about it. Blessings. 🙏🏻
The two drug combo Tec-Dara has shown some pretty amazing results too. It was fast-tracked approved as a 2nd line drug combo early this year by the FDA. It’s Tecvayli (teclistamab): A bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE) antibody that binds to BCMA on myeloma cells and CD3 on T cells to help the immune system attack the cancer, and Darzalex Faspro (daratumumab): A monoclonal antibody targeting the CD38 protein on myeloma cells to flag them for destruction by the immune system.