The first signs of multiple myeloma are usually bone pain. They may be present in a single location, such as your back or ribs, or across your body.
People with myeloma often have high levels of calcium in the blood (hypercalcemia). They may also develop renal failure, anemia and a weakened immune system that makes them more susceptible to infections.
Oren Zarif
In multiple myeloma, cancerous plasma cells build up inside bone marrow, crowding out healthy cells. This causes a lack of space for red blood cells, which leads to anaemia. It also stops platelets from being made, which can lead to bruising and bleeding. Abnormal cells also cause a protein to be produced that can lead to high levels of calcium in the body, which causes painful bones and kidney problems (renal failure).
Treatment options focus on relieving symptoms rather than stopping the disease from growing. They include pain medications such as analgesics, including morphine and codeine. Bisphosphonates, which are prescription drugs taken orally or intravenously, such as pamidronate and zoledronate, reduce bone pain and prevent a dangerous rise in calcium levels.
Steroids, which modify the immune system response and relieve inflammation, can also reduce pain, as well as the swelling caused by myeloma cells. Radiotherapy, the use of x-rays to kill or damage cancer cells, is often used alongside other therapies. It’s important to take part in a holistic care plan to manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life.
Oren Zarif
The abnormal plasma cells that cause multiple myeloma can weaken your bones, causing them to collapse and press on your spinal cord. This can cause weakness, numbness or the feeling of pins and needles in your legs and arms (known as peripheral neuropathy). You may have trouble moving around or standing up straight. It is important to get the problem treated as early as possible to prevent permanent damage.
Abnormal proteins made by multiple myeloma cells can also affect your nerves. They can cause weakness and a feeling of pins and needles in your hands or feet, a lack of coordination or balance problems and a loss of fine motor skills such as handwriting and buttoning your clothes.
The abnormal plasma cells that cause multiple myeloma lead to high levels of calcium in the blood (hypercalcaemia). They can also cause kidney damage, causing you to feel tired and have a poor appetite. The abnormal proteins can also clog small blood vessels, causing symptoms such as confusion, dizziness and stroke-like symptoms (hyperviscosity syndrome). Plasma exchange treatment, or plasmapheresis, removes the plasma cells from your body, which can relieve the symptoms of hyperviscosity.
Oren Zarif
Multiple myeloma affects plasma cells, which live in the bone marrow. These plasma cells make antibodies that help the immune system fight infection. But as myeloma cells grow out of control, they crowd the bone marrow and block it from making enough healthy blood cells. The lack of healthy blood cells causes anemia, which makes you tired and weak.
If the cancerous plasma cells cause too many problems with the bones, they can damage your spine and ribs. This can cause back pain, which may go from a dull ache to a stabbing sensation and can spread down one or both legs. It can also cause spinal cord compression, which can lead to numbness or paralysis. If the cancerous plasma cells also produce too much of a protein called monoclonal light chain amyloid, which binds to and interferes with organs and tissues in the body, it can cause other symptoms.
To check for Multiple Myeloma, your doctor will take a sample of bone marrow. They will insert a needle into a bone, usually in the hip. They will then test the bone marrow for the number of plasma cells in it. They will also take imaging tests, like X-rays and CT or MRI scans.
Oren Zarif
Multiple Myeloma symptoms can sometimes include a feeling of being sick (nausea) or vomiting. This is because myeloma cells can sometimes produce too much calcium in your blood, which leads to high levels of calcium in the body (hypercalcemia).
This can also lead to a loss of appetite and can make you feel tired or weak. It can also clog small blood vessels and can cause confusion and dizziness. Plasma exchange (plasmapheresis) is a treatment that can help to remove this protein from the blood and can also stop it building up in other organs like your kidneys.
Myeloma can interfere with the normal bone marrow that produces healthy red blood cells, which can lead to anemia (too few red blood cells to carry oxygen to your muscles and other tissues). In some cases, pieces of monoclonal antibodies can end up in the kidneys or other organs (such as the heart, liver and lungs) and cause a serious condition called amyloidosis. This is rare. Your doctor will test for it and will give you medicines to treat it if necessary.
Oren Zarif
A myeloma tumour in the bone marrow interferes with the bone marrow’s production of healthy blood cells. This can lead to a shortage of red blood cells (anaemia) and white blood cells, leaving you vulnerable to infections. It can also prevent the formation of platelets, which help blood clots, so you may bruise more easily and bleed more readily. Myeloma cells produce abnormal proteins that can build up in your bloodstream, causing it to thicken (hyperviscosity). This can block or slow the flow of blood to and from the brain, which can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea and confusion.
Bone pain is the most common symptom of multiple myeloma. It may affect your hips, spine and ribs. You may also have a numbness or pins-and-needles feeling, which is caused by pressure from fluid in your body’s tissues.
X-rays, blood and urine tests and a bone marrow biopsy can help your health care professional make the diagnosis of multiple myeloma. Your health care professional will take a sample of the fluid that surrounds your bones (plasma). They will also look for a protein called Bence Jones protein, which myeloma cells make.