I had MGUS with absolutely no symptoms. (dx 4/04) After my husband passed away in Sept "04, I developed 2 tumors at T3. Because it was only two weeks after his death, I thought it was just tension pain and ignored it too long. I now have permanent nerve damage and permanent stiffness and neuropathy limiting my ability to walk. (I was able to walk after months of PT) (Yes, extreme stress, I feel sure, was a factor here in my developing the tumors.)
Shirley

I was involved in taking care of three family members who died over a three-year period. At the same time, I was also driving a car with a design defect that allowed car exhaust that I could not smell to enter the passenger compartment. After that, I became sensitive to most things made from petrochemicals and to electrical fields as well. All very stressful. I was diagnosed with MM in 2003, ten days before our daughter's wedding. That may have been the actual stress trigger for me, in addition to all of the other stress mentioned above. My daughter and I are very close, and I was having difficulty knowing that she was leaving the nest for good.

Cathy outlines history of both physical and mental stress- "I was involved in taking care of three family members who died over a three-year period. At the same time, I was also driving a car with a design defect that allowed car exhaust that I could not smell to enter the passenger compartment." My mental stress over several years was accompanied by working in a commercial printing company- daily toxic fumes. David

My husband was unknowingly exposed to high levels of radiation in his office for several years. He was also extremely stressed for many years, living in the US, where he did not want to live. Then, we moved overseas -- he wanted the move but as a major move it was still incredibly stressful, and as I did not want the move, I know that I projected a lot of stress on him which didn't 't help him. Then, he moved immediately into an extremely demanding job; the couple of years before diagnosis were exceptionally high stress as he was in an administrative position with a lot of tension (he actually tried to step down, but there was no one else who could do the job so he was forced to continue). He worked long days and routinely did not eat lunch, and then was so tired when he got home that he'd have whatever he could grab, and not eat properly even then. At the same time, we were (still are) building a house, and since I didn't have the language abilities (Greek) to deal with most of the details, he was having to deal with over the top stress from that too. Finally, in the year before diagnosis five members of his family died, plus two members of mine whom he had known well. (our beloved 17 year old cats also died a couple of months before diagnosis). And, our two children both had severe sleep disorders and woke up 6-11 times a night, every night (this went on for 9 years, between the two of them).

So, in short, a whole lot of stress preceded his diagnosis!

In grad school getting my MSW-my step-father died and I had to fly back to Tennessee and move my Mom to Oregon- took 3 months of garage sales and trips to the dump. My mother then moved into my duplex for a year (still in school) and was diabetic with a heart condition. When her blood sugar was off she'd accuse me of all sorts of evil things. Then she moved into assisted living and my marriage started unraveling and school was almost over, then Mom died and I had to settle the estate, clean out her house and start my divorce which was fought by him for money since I inherited some and the divorce was brutal lasted 2 1/2 years finalized in June 06, I was diagnosed MGUS Nov. 06. There were times I was sure my head would explode.

I worked as a shipyard electrician for 17 years and was exposed to solvents and all sorts of petroleum products. I also went to school and got a diesel certificate, probably lots of exposure there. I've worked on cars, etc. and not eaten very organically prior to 06.

There have been a few studies that showed no link between stress and cancer. I never believed them myself. I just thought maybe it is a function of how people handle stress--which is usually not evaluated separately or at all in these studies. Then I found out that IL-6, a known growth factor in mm, (I think biaxin and other drugs used in mm keep it down), goes up a factor of many times under stress.

However, be that as it may, I think that there also has to be a lot of other factors. Sure, environment would be one of them. Yet, I talked to someone last night who knew a man who lived to be 96 despite actually working on asbestos-lined brakes for a living, making a lifetime of washing his hands in toxic chemicals to clean himself, and other obvious huge risk factors that should have ledf to cancer. He never had any.

So there definitely is some type of genetic component also, that makes us prsdisposed to this. As I have posted, I had severe acne up to my 20 and even now have flare-ups when not on curcumin at 48. I actually inquired about Accutane at age 40 but was not advised to do it with my case of severe but by then burned-out acne. I should have taken it anyway. When I was diagnosed with acne, my youngest sister told me that she thought that both the acne and the mm were symptoms of an effective immune system. That certainly could be.

I have yet another sister that smoked two boxes of cigarettes for twenty years, and quite 15 years ago when her husband got Hodgkins Lymphoma. I cannot even remember the last time she has been sick at all. And she has had a lot of professional stress for a long time.

I had a very traumatic event happen to me in 2000, but I really cannot post about specifics. Something I had waited and expected for years, did not pan out because of a promise that someone close to me broke. This involved a huge amount of money that completely affected my life. I never really thought that had anything to do with my developing my mm, but I waited for this money another 3 years before I got mm

Now I think differently and think this was a major factor. Not only because of the stress, but both how I handled it emotionally and what I ate because of it. I used to down one large diet Coke after another using them as antidepressants to deal with this situation. This cannot be healthy. I really do not think it is the Nutrasweet, but it may be because I would also interspersed them with OJ, and sodium Benzoate + vitamin C= benzene, at least outside of the body.
Benzene is a known risk factor in getting myeloma. Is it really far-fetched to this might also happen inside the stomach?

I think that maybe we have a lot of things together to have mm happen to us at a young age, as I and several other people have. But there are other people I know who are my age, who have absolutely no explanation--they have had good diets, not been exposed to stress, handle stress well, and have not been exposed to toxic chemicals. Yet even these people can get myeloma. I cannot pretend to know what might be the cause for these people, but they are much fewer in number.

All I can say is what is important here and now, is it might be very prudent to think about what might have caused your myeloma..and try to put a stop to it. It might help prevent it coming back for awhile if you are lucky enough to go into remission by whatever means.

Alex Maas
a.maas@cox.net

Many of us have experienced either/or/both physical or mental stress leading up to their dx. Has anyone NOT experienced stress before their dx? David

I was under some stress when I was diagnosed. My 17 yr. old son was killed in a car accident within sight of our house on Jan 5 2007. I made it through the first showing on the 10th although I felt strange, and a few people even commented on it. I stayed home in bed on the 11th, during the second showing, because I had a temp of 102 and shivering, vomiting flu-like symptoms. My fever got worse and the pain started in my shoulders and chest, coupled with shortness of breath, I started to think it was my heart and I let my wife call the ambulance. I missed my son's funeral, I was still in the ER. I was admitted and had a biopsy by the 18th I knew I had MM.

Craig, I am sure that all of us reading this share Carole's sentiments and extend all sympathy for your loss. I can think of little that could be more stressful than what you experienced. The body registers stress, of that I am convinced. May you have a good response to whatever treatment you are doing for your MM. Condolences, and faith and strength to you and your family. Lisa

Linda M - Houston
To say I lived a life of stress is an understatement. It was self-induced stress - over every little thing, going back to childhood issues which I am resolving at last. The article on German New Medicine is very interesting to me. I do not think it is the final answer, but a possibly significant part of overall cancer treatment. We all have heard and/or experienced the "attitude" effect on cancer treatment. I don't think even the medical community denies that. Fascinating. Thanks, David.

sunnylady1
From my reading in the past and especially of late, diet coke probably put extreme stress on his body, i.e. neurologically and on several organ systems, i.e. pancreas, liver, kidney. Read the research on it, that is the aspartame in it and other ingredients.

sunnylady1
Just another thought for CaroleMMwife regarding stress. Stress at the cerebral level can be the most debilitating. I was a university professor for 35 years, lots of "think tank" activity with colleagues as well as teaching, advising students, curriculum development, and much more. From friends and acquaintances in the business or industry, stress in the corporate world, just as in academia, in the most modern, cleanest work environments possible can still be quite fierce.

Carole,

Nobody can answer the question how did I get MM and I honestly believe asking the question actually works against your quality of life and may even provide energy to the disease through stress whether you recognize it as stress or not. Making sure you are getting the right treatment for you is where I believe you and your husband should be putting your brain power for the best quality of life and peace of mind. This group can help you to know where to look for the information you seek and can provide those invaluable personal experiences.

Terry

We all need to eveluate our lifestyles and correct what we feel we have screwed up- I'm certainly eating better and not trying to multi-task everything in the universe. I also take a day here and there to do nothing. My culture does not approve of doing nothing (US) but I find it valuable and learned it after I broke my ankle.

Thinking about possible causes of my mm helps me consider changes in my lifestyle- Lifestyle changes that I consider therapies. I know that my thinking runs counter to what conventional oncology promotes but my idea of therapy since "failing" my pbsct focuses on my immune system.

I don't expect to find a clinical trial that proves stress or daily exposure to certain fumes causes mm but I am convinced that my lifestyle (both physical and mental) led to my dx. I don't live with regret but I do think often about how I want to live my life now. Judging by the length of this thread I think that many of us have thoughts about causes. David