what is multiple myeloma?

Question:

Answers:
Hi,

MM is a blood cancer of the plasma cells. I assume you are either a new "member of the club" or someone close to you is.

I could quote you from internet on details but you can get that for yourself. Here is some info from a "fellow member":

Uncommon, non cureable and iis one of the "terminal cancers".

BUT it can be treated and there are a lot of drugs avalible to help extend life with a good qualtiy of life. Many of us have had it for years and you would never even know we had cancer.

It does require a lot of management to keep in check and Living with this cancer can be tough, I find that the "mental game" is a lot harder to hadnle at times that the physical problems. It can be painful at first but that can be kept under check too.

From a "typing" basis (for treatment) it is very different than other cancers - every person responds different to treatement. They are not really staging anymore - each patient is compaired to where they are now vs when diagnosed.

The best website for information (IMHO) are:

http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/hm_lls
http://www.multiplemyeloma.org/
http://www.myeloma.org/main.jsp

There are also a couple fo good on line support networks; if you are interested, I can get you in contact with them (just email me).

THe most inportant thing is to know it is YOUR cancer; therefore you need to understand as much about it and the treatments that are avaliable. Make sure you work with a specialist in MM; it is a very unusual cancer and the "std" oncologist will not usually be up on the newest treatments - a lot of new treatments are in the works with at least 3 major drug trails going on right now.

Thanks and good luck,

Jewells
27 months and still here

Other Answers:
you have so many differents types of melonoma

Go to http://www.multiplemyeloma-guidebook.com is has everything you need to know.
Hope I helped!

Multiple myeloma (also known as MM, myeloma, plasma cell myeloma, or as Kahler's disease after Otto Kahler) is a type of cancer of plasma cells, immune system cells in bone marrow that produce antibodies. Its prognosis despite therapy is generally poor, and treatment may involve chemotherapy and stem cell transplant. It is part of the broad group of diseases called hematological malignancies

There are approximately 45,000 people in the United States living with multiple myeloma, and the American Cancer Society estimates that approximately 14,600 new cases of myeloma are diagnosed each year in the United States. It follows from here that the average prognosis is about three years

Treatment for multiple myeloma is focused on disease containment and suppression. Although allogeneic stem cell transplant might cure the cancer, it is considered investigational given the high treatment related mortality of the procedure. In addition to direct treatment of the plasma cell proliferation, bisphosphonates (e.g. pamidronate) are routinely administered to prevent fractures and erythropoietin to treat anemia.

Initial therapy is aimed at treating symptoms and reducing the burden of disease. Commonly used induction regimens include dexamethasone with or without thalidomide, and VAD (vincristine, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), and dexamethasone). Low-dose therapy with melphalan combined with prednisone can be used to palliate symptoms in patients who cannot tolerate aggressive therapy.

In patients who have good performance status, the next step in therapy is high-dose chemotherapy with melphalan with autologous stem cell transplantation. This can be given in tandem fashion, i.e. an autologous transplant followed by a second transplant. Nonmyeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplantation is being investigated as an alternative to autologous stem cell transplant.

The International Staging System can help to predict survival, with a median survival of 62 months for stage 1 disease, 45 months for stage 2 disease, and 29 months for stage 3 disease [2].

Cytogenetic analysis of myeloma cells may be of prognostic value, with deletion of chromosome 13, non-hyperdiploidy and the balanced translocations t(4;14) and t(14;16) conferring a poorer prognosis. The 11q13 and 6p21 cytogenetic abnormalities are associated with a better prognosis.

Prognostic markers such as these are always generated by retrospective analyses, and it is likely that new treatment developments will improve the outlook for those with traditionally 'poor-risk' disease

Bad. No chance.

Please see the webpage for more details on Multiple myeloma.
Source(s):
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000583.htm

More Questions and Answers

The consumer health information on youqa.com is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions.
The answer content post by the user, if contains the copyright content please contact us, we will immediately remove it.

what is multiple myeloma?

Health Resources