The Work Of Living With A Rare Cancer : Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma (also plasma cell myeloma also known as MM, myeloma, plasma cell myeloma, or as Kahler's disease) is a progressive hematologic (blood) disease. It is a cancer of the plasma cell, an important part of the immune system that produces immunoglobulins (antibodies) to help fight infection and disease.

I had been really struggling with my leukemia during the month of January. Bruises covered my body and my weight had dwindled down. The worst part of all of this was keeping the secret from Landon. He saw a difference in me no matter how hard I tried to hide it. One day Landon and I went to grab a bite to eat at Cecil’s Diner. That was where I decided I needed to tell him. We were walking back from the diner, arm-in-arm, hoping not to be blown away by a nor’easter. I incited the conversation by asking, “People think I am weird, do they not.”

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

You never realize how evil cancer truly is until it affects you or your family. I was four when cancer first affected me, stage four leukemia. My two year old cousin Conor was on the verge of death, and I had absolutely no clue. For the first nine months of his fight all I knew that he was sick, I assumed he had a cold, not fighting for his life. When I was five my mom sat me down to tell me that Conor was not going to make it, and that my brother and I were going with her to Albany to visit him. His bones were sticking out, his head looked like a bowling ball, and his skin was a pale blue. He looked like a child in a concentration camp during World War II. Honestly if you were to think of what a dead child looked like, that was him. That was the first time I realized that my mom was right, and that Conor was not going to make it.

* Bone injuries and fractures occur when the myeloma cells invade the bone. Osteolytic bone fractures appear as punched out areas on x-ray. Bone pain is experienced especially in the back, pelvis, ribs and skull.

Multiple myeloma, also known as myeloma, hematologic cancer, or cancer of the blood is a plasma cell cancer, a type of white blood cell made in the bone marrow that is responsible for creating antibodies. A Multiple myeloma diagnosis means a group of these plasma cells has become cancerous and is multiplying. This cancerous multiplication of plasma cells raises the the level of abnormal proteins in circulating blood, and reduces the space available in the bone marrow for making healthy plasma cells . Health problems caused by multiple myeloma can affect your bones, immune system, kidneys and red blood cell count. The lifetime risk of getting multiple myeloma is 1 in 149 (0.67%).

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%

Being diagnosed with cancer I knew I only had one option and that was to take it to the Lord and when I did, wow! He not only healed me He delivered me too of addictions! I repented of my sins to Jesus with my whole heart and He healed me! Not instantly it was a process for months, everything except drinking and smoking that He did

In 1963, Lewis and Szur described a disorder that they termed ‘malignant myelosclerosis’, characterized by an acute clinical

This experience changed me, this might change you. The experience I had was sad, and this was when I had heard that my sister Riley had got Cancer for the third or forth time. I was ten at the time and also I didn’t know much about Cancer until my mom told me how bad it was and what it could do.

Patients with standard-risk myeloma have a median overall survival (OS) of 6–7 years while those with high-risk disease have a median OS of less than 2–3 years despite tandem autologous stem cell

The age-adjusted incidence of acute myeloid leukemia is 3.6 per 100000 persons per year, with a median age of 66 years at diagnosis. Whereas the outcome for patients with AML who are less than 60 years of age has improved over the past several decades, the major reasons for failure are primary refractoriness of the disease to initial chemotherapy or failure to maintain the complete state of remission.. Some patients have residual leukemic cells in their marrow even after intensive treatment. This is referred to as “refractory leukemia.” There are other patients who have a return of leukemia cells in the marrow and a decrease in normal blood cells after achieving a remission. This is referred to as “relapsed leukemia.” (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society 2011)

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell dyscrasia characterized by the proliferation of malignant cells in the bone marrow (Porth, 2009). Also known as plasma cell myeloma, myelomatosis, medullary plasmacytosis or Kahler’s disease, MM results from the development of a monoclonal immunoglobulin (referred to as an M-protein), a monoclonal immunoglobulin light chain, or both (Ferreira, 2013). Patients with MM can present with a wide range of signs and symptoms including bone fractures, anemia and kidney damage or no symptoms at all (Lobban & Perkins, 2013). This creates a diagnostic challenge to clinicians as many of these conditions are of benign etiology (Lobban & Perkins, 2013). The individual variations among patients with

It is a world epidemic, “the second leading cause of death in the United States, exceeded only by heart disease.”(CDC, Statistics for Different Kinds of Cancer). Bringing not only physical dame but as well as psychological damage. I’m speaking of course on cancer. Cancer affects the lives of millions on this world. One day you might see a cancer patient high in spirits, feeling great to be alive, while he next day you may see them broken asking themselves, why are they alive. Oncologist are a group of medical professionals that lead the fight against cancer. Working day in and day out, as they work with the patient, to prevent, to treat, to find a cure for. They are the heros of the world, even with fatal losses on their watch, they still come back more determined to save the world from this epidemic. This career path proves to be beneficial in this world to not only impact lives to keep on fighting, it even helps save lives physically and spiritually. This is why I have chosen this career. It is urgent to obtain knowledge of the oncologist career path, understanding its origin, requirements to be one, outlook and even overall description of the job. For as the reader, this information might contribute to your opinion on the necessity of this career.

Multiple myeloma is a haematological malignancy characterized by clonal proliferation of malignant plasma cell in the bone marrow with diffuse bony involvement. The spine is the most common skeletal site being involved. This case report describes a multiple myeloma patient presented with spinal cord compression and illustrates the aspects of differential diagnosis, the use of laboratory and imaging for diagnosis.