Multiple Myeloma Case Study

“The patient is Adam Rudd, a 78 y/o white male with a history of hypertension. He has been diagnosed with hypertension past 15 years and is on anti-hypertensive medications and aspirin. He is very weak and short of breath. He is accompanied with his longtime friend Jennifer, who reports that Rudd was looking very weak and was complaining of severe headache and blurred vision before coming to the hospital. He is 5’9” and weighs 270 lb. Vital signs recorded were: oral temperature 98.20 F, BP 224/120 mm Hg with a heart rate of 102 beats/minute and respiration of 24 breaths per minute. The pulse oximetry reading was 94% on room air. He is complaining of severe headache and blurred vision. Rudd said that he did not take his antihypertensive medication or aspirin since he ran out of pills. He has not been taking his medication for past 15 days. He reports no known allergies to any medications or other substances.”

Mr. Jacobs is a very pleasant, 69-year-old gentleman who presents to the oncology clinic for evaluation and treatment of a myelodysplastic syndrome with excess blasts in transformation RAEB-2. Patient states he was in a normal state of health until 01/2017 when he was evaluated to have anemia and leukopenia. He was referred to a hematologist/oncologist and underwent a bone marrow biopsy. The results revealed a mild dysplastic syndrome with excess blasts in transformation RAEB-2. Flow cytometry showed 11% myeloblasts. He was subsequently given one unit of packed red blood cells and started on erythropoietin every three weeks

24-hour urine collection revealed proteinuria (550 mg). A peripheral blood smear revealed rouleaux formation. CT scans of the chest, abdomen and pelvis revealed no obvious malignancy. Quantitative immunoglobulins were significant for elevated IgA (2415 mg/dl) and concurrent suppression of IgG and IgM levels. Quantitative serum light chain measurement revealed normal levels of kappa and lambda, with an elevated Kappa:Lambda ratio at 2:1. SPEP, UPEP, and serum immunofixation revealed IgA-Kappa Multiple Myeloma (MM). Given her significant-severe, symptomatic hypercalcemia; she was treated with aggressive intravenous crystalloids and loop diuretics, calcitonin, pamidronate; and a decision to perform early hemodialysis given her extremely high calcium levels. Her calcium subsequently normalized to 10.1 mg/dl. Bone-marrow biopsy with flow cytometry revealed intracytoplasmic kappa-restricted monoclonal plasma cells that occupied 40% of the marrow. Bone survey was negative for lytic lesions. Oncology started her on a chemotherapeutic regimen consisting of Bortezomib, Lenalidomide, dexamethasone along

This is an 82-year-old gentleman, who was referred from Dr. Gretchen Marsh’s office because the patient’s BUN and creatinine were high, as he has acute kidney injury. The patient went to Dr. Marsh’s office yesterday and was having generalized weakness. He does not have any vomiting. No diarrhea. No fever. No cough with expectoration. No sharpness. No wheezing. No headache. No dizziness. No passing out. No rectal bleeding. No hematemesis. No abdominal pain. No sore throat. No stuffy nose. No cough with expectoration. No burning, frequency, or

The patient is a 72-year-old black female who presented to the ED with complaints of low blood sugar. Her son found the patient at home in bed unresponsive. The son states he checked the patient's blood sugar it was 47. The patient is on NovoLog 3 times a day and Lantus one time a day. The patient had similar symptoms in the past. The patient has a medical history of dementia. She also is known to be hypertensive, insulin-dependent diabetes and has no surgical history. It is to be noted on presentation her BP was 128/95 with a pulse of 52, respirations of 15, hypothermic with a temp of 93 and oxygenating 94% on room air. She also showed significant bradycardia. EKG at 48 beats per minute, T waves were inverted in leads 4, 5 and 6 but

There are often no symptoms in the early stages of myeloma. In some cases, myeloma may be exposed by an accident in the course of routine blood testing and if symptoms are present they may be indistinct and related to those of other medical conditions.

Symptoms of multiple myeloma can be difficult to detect in patients with beginning stages of this disease, but certain tests are used to diagnose patient. The exact cause of multiple myeloma is unknown. However, risk factors such as age and occupation can lead to determining a diagnosis. Treatment of multiple myeloma is inconclusive, but is used to prolong life or relieve pain of patients suffering from their condition. Perhaps as new information is discovered and science progresses, the cure for this degenerative disease can finally be

After the death of her husband, and for about three decades there was peace in her life as she stated, she would do the things she loved and was active all the time, but then she noticed different things happening to her. When Jane was 66 years old, she had found out that she was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma and she already half way through stage one. “They provided me with a medicine named Melphalan, and it was the worst thing ever.” She took Melphalan by pill and it had many side effects including her getting weaker, she had said that she had started losing her appetite. She didn’t let this incurable disease stop her from doing things she

Mr. Issler presents with decreased oxygen saturation, diaphoresis, and pallor. Laboratory and diagnostic values show that he has impaired gas exchange with bilateral lung infiltrates, marginally low hemoglobin, a slightly distended abdomen, and decreased renal function. His blood pressure is also extremely high and he takes Coumadin for a history of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Mr. Issler also has a history of congestive heart failure (CHF) for which he takes Lasix, a loop diuretic. He also exhibits renal insufficiency evidenced by an elevated creatinine level. Other vital signs include a respiratory rate of 22, pulse oximetry of 88% on room air, sinus bradycardia with a pulse of 58, and blood pressure of 176/84.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a rare life-threatening cancer that affects the white blood cells known as plasma cells that are found in the soft, spongy tissue at the center of the bones, called bone marrow. The plasma cells are useful in fighting infections by producing antibodies that recognize and attack germs. The plasma cells are transformed into malignant myeloma cells when there are high levels of M proteins or better known as the production of abnormal antibodies from a result of myeloma cells. These M proteins multiple and block out normally functioning antibodies and the end results are bone damage or kidney problems. An individual can have blood tests or urine tests done to determine if they have multiple myeloma. In the article, “The work of living with a rare cancer: multiple myeloma” the authors explain how this type of cancer still remains incurable, but treatable that patients can expect to live longer, approximately five to seven years than what two decades ago. This was not expected for patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma during the 1990s, since patients were expected to only live about two and a half years after being diagnosed. Treatment for multiple myeloma throughout the years has advanced greatly yet a cure is still to be discovered. This essay will focus of the causes, the sign and symptoms, how multiple myeloma is detected and diagnosed, and how multiple myeloma is treated.

If the patient happens to have any of the symptoms of leukemia, any type, it is recommended to consult a doctor immediately to have a blood test taken.

Multiple Myeloma is a form of cancer which affects the plasma cells of the body, which are white blood cells. Multiple Myeloma, first described in 1848, is a disease “characterized by a proliferation of malignant plasma cells and a subsequent overabundance of monoclonal paraprotein.” To understand how Multiple Myeloma affects an infected person’s plasma cells, it helps to have a general understanding of how normal blood cells are formed and how they act. Most blood cells develop from stem cells, which can be found in bone marrow (soft material inside our bones – the “filling”). Stem cells mature into white blood cells, red blood cells, or platelets.2 The purpose of white blood cells is to fight off infection, while

Initial symptoms are not specific to ALL, but worsen to the point that medical help is needed. They result from the lack of normal and healthy blood cells because they are crowded out by the malignant and immature leukocytes (white blood cells). These shortages noticeable on routine blood tests and, in addition to bruising, can cause symptoms like fatigue (due to anemia), weakness, dizziness, loss of appetite, shortness of breath, fever (due to low numbers of white blood cells), persistent infections, bruising, purpura, petechiae, and bleeding from the gums, nose, and skin (Shead et al., 2014). Laboratory

Multiple Myeloma is a neoplastic disease that involves the plasma cells within bone marrow. Plasma cells are a type of white blood cell that helps make up our immune system. They work within our immune system by generating antibodies that guard us from microorganisms and other unsafe materials. Although multiple myeloma forms in the immune system, the abnormal antibodies decrease the effectiveness of the body ability to fight infection. Since multiple myeloma is an uncommon cancer, the etiology is idiopathic, unknown. When plasma cells start to divide rapidly they become abnormal, and this is when myeloma starts. Healthy patients have a 5%

Mr. Armstrong has a history of renal insufficiency and uncontrolled hypertension, along with symptoms of fatigue, pedal edema, and occasional shortness of breath. He does not have a history of trauma or obstruction to his kidneys, but his creatinine and BUN levels are currently at 3.5 mg/dl and 40 mg/dl. Normal creatinine concentration values are 0.7 to 1.2 mg/dl and normal BUN values are 10 to 20 mg/dl; this reveals that Mr. Armstrong’s kidneys are not removing wastes properly (McCance, Huether, Brashers, & Rote, 2014).  Mr. Armstrong’s history of renal insufficiency and uncontrolled hypertension is commonly found in patients diagnosed with intrarenal (intrinsic) acute renal failure. Intrarenal acute renal failure can be categorized as