Bike the Coast Day 5: Riding the Ups and Downs of Myeloma

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The world for multiple myeloma patients is one of ups and downs. How can we ride successfully through all its hills and valleys?

Myeloma patient Richard Hite shares how he is riding well with myeloma as he rides the first Bike the Coast 600 mile ride from San Francisco to San Diego. First, Richard found a myeloma specialist to help him navigate the disease. Then, during and after his treatment he kept living his best life and achieving his dreams of continuing his cycling. Richard created the Myeloma Crowd Cycling Club to stay fit while helping raise funds and awareness for multiple myeloma. 

Staying fit is critical in myeloma. Whether you're an avid cyclist or not, it is important to do whatever you can to keep moving. Why is this so critical? Myeloma doctors segment patients into fit, unfit and frail categories when they develop treatment plans for their patients. As an example, the age cutoff for autologous stem cell transplant patients used to be 65. Now, it is based on fitness status. Patients in their 80s can still undergo stem cell transplant if they are fit enough. It is also common to have triplet or even quadruple therapies to treat myeloma. The goal of this type of treatment is to kill as many myeloma clones as possible with different drugs. Patients who are unfit or frail are less likely to be able to tolerate this type of treatment, even though it may be the most effective. 

Fitness also improves your mental and emotional ability to keep moving with myeloma. It's not an easy diagnosis, and staying active can help maintain a positive attitude during your uphill climb with myeloma. 

Discover myeloma specialists in your area, join the Myeloma Crowd Cycling Club and learn more about your treatment and clinical trial options using the tools we've created in HealthTree.org.

Special thanks to our Bike the Coast sponsors: