Dr. Suki Subbiah, Oncologist, LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine
Congressman Steve Scalise announced Tuesday he’s been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, which is a cancer of plasma cells found in blood marrow. LSU Health New Orleans Oncologist Dr. Suki Subbiah said plasma cells are normal cells that are part of our immune system…
“And they produce antibodies to help fight off infection, and sometimes these plasma cells turn cancerous,” said Subbiah.
Fortunately, today’s treatment includes a combination of three anti-cancer medications. Twenty years ago, Subbiah said a Multiple Myeloma was essentially a death sentence, with a very limited prognosis and life expectancy.
“Now with newer treatments, we’re able to manage it as a chronic illness, and the goal is really to try and get the patient in remission, where the cancer is essentially undetectable,” said Subbiah.
Once in remission, Subbiah said patients can receive a stem cell transplant of their own cells and then go on to receive maintenance therapy which is a lower dose of an anti-cancer medication. And because it’s not curable the cancer could come back.
She said some individuals will show symptoms like fatigue, decreased appetite, weight loss, bone pain, repeat infections, and numbness in the hands and feet. But others show no symptoms and it’s found in routine bloodwork. Subbiah said there are some risk factors for the disease such as…
“Exposure to chemicals or exposure to radiation that puts you at higher risk for developing myeloma. But in general, we don’t know what it is for each individual patient,” said Subbiah.
Scalise issued a statement that he’s begun treatment that will go on for several months and plans to continue working while being treated.
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