Myeloma Information
September is Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma Awareness Month
Remarkable progress has been made in treating patients with blood cancers, with survival rates for many having doubled or tripled, and in some cases quadrupled since The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) was founded in 1949.
Your Guide to Making Multiple Myeloma Treatment Decisions
Experts in myeloma will help you consider all of your treatment options, balancing the risks and benefits of each with your age and overall health. For example, while high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant is considered a standard treatment for myeloma, not everyone can tolerate high-dose chemotherapy.
Drug for Multiple Myeloma Demonstrated to Significantly Extend Disease-Free Survival
Initial results from a large, randomized clinical trial for people with multiple myeloma showed that people who received the oral drug lenalidomide (Revlimid, also known as CC-5013) following a blood stem cell transplant had their cancer kept in check longer than those who received a placebo.
Coping with Blood Cancers
Cure rates and remission periods for adults with leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes, and other blood cancers are greatly improved because of new drugs, new uses for existing drugs, and improvements in radiation therapy and stem cell transplantation techniques. Research to improve health outcomes for more people with blood cancers is ongoing. Physicians are working to tailor therapies to decrease side effects, as well as long-term and late effects.
General Information About Multiple Myeloma and Other Plasma Cell Neoplasms
Multiple myeloma and other plasma cell neoplasms (cancers) are diseases in which the body makes too many plasma cells. Plasma cells develop from B lymphocytes (B cells), a type of white blood cell that is made in the bone marrow. Normally, when bacteria or viruses enter the body, some of the B cells will change into plasma cells. The plasma cells make a different antibody to fight each type of bacteria or virus that enters the body, to stop infection and disease.
Stages of Multiple Myeloma and Other Plasma Cell Neoplasms
After multiple myeloma and other plasma cell neoplasms have been diagnosed, tests are done to find out the amount of cancer in the body. The process used to find out the amount of cancer in the body is called staging. It is important to know the stage in order to plan treatment.
Piecing Together Your Multiple Myeloma Treatment Options
Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that begins in plasma cells (white blood cells that produce antibodies). Different types of treatments are available. Some treatments are standard, and some are being tested in clinical trials. Nine types of standard treatment for multiple myeloma are currently used.
Helping Survivors Thrive after Marrow and Cord Blood Transplants
by Elizabeth A. Murphy, EdD, RN
Advances in transplant science have improved outcomes and have made transplant a viable treatment option for more people and a wider range of diseases.
