What is multiple myeloma? (animated)

Multiple myeloma is a rare blood cancer that starts in the bone marrow. The bone marrow creates white blood cells, whose job it is to make antibodies. These antibodies are like an army of soldiers that fight off a wide variety of infections, viruses, and bacteria. Each of us has over 100,000 different kinds of antibodies, so we can fight off diseases like the flu, pneumonia, and even cancer.

When someone has multiple myeloma, one of these antibodies overgrows, doesn't die when it should, and crowds out the normal antibodies, making your overall immune system weaker, not stronger. This can cause frequent infections, a buildup in bone leading to bone pain and fractures, anemia which causes fatigue, and kidney failure because high levels of protein are in the blood and urine. Today, the cause of multiple myeloma is unknown. Every day, eighty-three Americans are diagnosed with multiple myeloma. The average age of patients with multiple myeloma is 62, and blacks are twice as likely to develop myeloma than whites. People can have precursor stages of multiple myeloma and not even know it. Patients can start with a condition called M Gus or smoldering myeloma. These are early stages of the disease. Multiple myeloma is not a single disease. There are different genetic types of myeloma. Some are normal risk and some are high-risk where chromosomes get swapped or deleted. So, no myeloma patient is exactly the same. Additionally, the genetics of myeloma can change and become more aggressive over time.

Getting the right tests at the beginning of diagnosis is absolutely critical because once treatment starts, the treatment kills the myeloma cells with these features reside. And to fight the enemy, you need to know as much about it as possible. A myeloma academic center is a great place to do your initial testing. These tests include blood tests, urine tests, bone marrow biopsies, and imaging tests like MRIs and PET CT scans. Today, multiple myeloma is incurable but very treatable. There are a wide variety of oral medications, infusions, and chemo that are used effectively to treat myeloma. With so many options, the drug can be combined to effectively and individually treat each patient. These combinations are commonly used in addition to stem-cell transplant. Advances and new myeloma therapies are giving patients great hope. These new approaches include vaccines, targeted therapies, and treatment to train normal disease-fighting T cells to kill myeloma. This approach, called immunotherapy, includes several types of exciting treatments, and myeloma has had more new drug FDA approvals than any other cancer in recent years. For the first time, myeloma specialists are saying a cure may be possible, and that a small percentage of patients may already be cured.

Patients don't have to sit back and wait for that cure to come. They can help speed up a cure by doing small and simple things. First, they can share information about myeloma with other patients, family, friends, and even their doctors and chiropractors to help get myeloma diagnosed at earlier stages. Most people haven't heard of myeloma, even though it is diagnosed more frequently than leukemia. Sharing a Facebook post or tweet could literally save someone's life.

Second, they can consult with a myeloma specialist to help them determine which treatments are best for their particular case. These experts have opened clinical trials and are pushing towards a cure. Because there are so many new drugs and treatments, having a myeloma specialist in your corner is a must. A local oncologist will have a tough time keeping up with the pace of advances in myeloma and its complexity when they have to see patients with dozens of other types of cancers. Many patients will consult with a myeloma expert involved in research at an academic center and then return home to get their day-to-day care at their local oncologist's office.

Third, they can consider joining a myeloma clinical trial. In a trial, patients have access to exciting new treatment options. We have new drugs today because patients joined clinical trials in the past. There are clinical trials available for newly diagnosed patients and patients who have relapsed. At each treatment decision point, a clinical trial should be considered. If patients wait to use them as a last resort, it's not likely they will be able to join if they have other health issues. Clinical trials are the way that new discoveries are brought from the research lab into the clinic.

Lastly, they can invite their family and friends to do research on their behalf. The NIH is only funding one of every 12 proposals, so even the best and brightest researchers from top facilities need funding to complete their work. Friends and family want to help. Donating to the Myeloma Crowd Research Initiative can help accelerate better outcomes for myeloma patients. Any sized donation helps, and the MCRI donates all proceeds directly to research projects. So share, see a specialist, join a clinical trial, and donate to the MCRI because we can't wait for a cure for multiple myeloma.