Why New Patients With Multiple Myeloma ‘Can Expect Long, Healthy Lives’

For nearly 30 years, Dr. Jim Omel has had a front row seat to the changing landscape of multiple myeloma treatment.

Omel, 78, is a retired family practitioner from central Nebraska who first received a diagnosis of multiple myeloma in 1997, a cancer journey that began with a feeling of chronic pain in his lower back.

In the years since, Omel has undergone an evolving array with treatments, including radiation, autologous stem cell transplant, Revlimid (lenalidomide), Velcade (bortezomib) and dexamethasone, and faced recurrences of his disease in 2000, 2006 and 2010.

“In 1997 it was bleak,” Omel told CURE. “In 2025, the world is a totally different place for myeloma patients. We have a myriad of new treatments, effective treatments, and the vast majority of patients, 80%, can expect complete remission.”

An active patient advocate, Omel has lived without recurrence on multiple myeloma for 15 years. He sat down for an interview with CURE to discuss how life for patients with multiple myeloma has drastically changed in nearly 30 years.

Transcript:

How has life for patients with multiple myeloma changed since you received your diagnosis in 1997?

In 1997, it was bleak. In 2025, the world is a totally different place for myeloma patients. We have a myriad of new treatments, effective treatments, and the vast majority of patients, 80%, can expect complete remission, even [minimal residual disease]-negative status, and that just would have been unheard of in the year 2000. The year 2025, this year especially, has been a good one, and we have so many good immunotherapies now that we didn't have in the past, that I give new patients optimism. I use myself as an example. I'm an outlier when it comes to living that long, but new patients now can expect long, healthy lives. I use the analogy of diabetes. We cannot cure diabetes, but you can live with it, and we have good treatment for it. So I say that myeloma now is for the majority, not all, but for the majority of patients, it's a chronic disease. You can live with it, enjoy your life.

Transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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