How to Cure Multiple Myeloma
Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the blood that begins in the bone marrow. The cancer forms when plasma, a type of blood cell, is overproduced. This excess plasma forms tumors that destroy bone cells, eventually spreading to organs. There is no cure for multiple myeloma, but there are many treatment options available to combat the cancer and reduce painful symptoms.
- Employ the use of pain relief drugs. Multiple myeloma can be painful, especially in the affected areas of the bone. Pain relief drugs can reduce the painful symptoms and make daily living easier.
- Stay active and exercise regularly. Exercise strengthens bones and keeps your body’s stores of calcium in your bones where they need to be, rather than in your blood.
- Consider drug therapies to treat multiple myeloma. The most common drug combination used in treatment is melphalan, a chemotherapy drug, and prednisone, a steroid. These drugs, used in conjunction with each other can help fight the cancer and keep your body stronger.
- Treat existing bone damage with the use of bisphosphonates. Bisphosphonates are administered intravenously to help treat the bone damage that has already occurred.
- Undergo common cancer treatments, including chemotherapy and radiation. Both of these can be effective at combating multiple myeloma and are typically administered at the oncologist’s office.
- Talk to your oncologist about stem cell transplant. Doctors usually consider this option if organs are damaged by the multiple myeloma. Signs of organ damage include anemia, impaired kidney function and high blood calcium.
While there is currently no cure for multiple myeloma, advances are being made and recent discoveries have led scientists to examine new treatment options. Survival rates of people with multiple myeloma have doubled in the past 30 years, thanks to these advances. There are many more chemotherapy drugs that are effective at combating this cancer than there used to be, giving doctors more options to treat patients than ever before.