What is Multiple Myeloma? Understanding This Rare Cancer
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/ Updated January 31st, 2019

What is Multiple Myeloma? Understanding This Rare Cancer

Medical Source: Dr. Nina Shah
UCSF Medical Center
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Multiple myeloma is a rare cancer that forms in a type of white blood cell called a plasma cell. The American Cancer Society estimates that about 30,770 new cases of the disease will be diagnosed this year, and about 12,770 people will die from it.

Multiple myeloma causes plasma cells to grow out of proportion to other cells, which can lead to a handful of symptoms. “That’s how we diagnose it,” says Dr. Nina Shah, a hematologist who specializes in multiple myeloma at UCSF Medical Center. “Some people come because they’re just tired, and a blood count shows that things are abnormal. The plasma cells tend to take up space in the bone marrow, so sometimes patients will come to us with a new fracture or a new break in the bone. The myeloma cells can also produce proteins and cause you to have kidney failure.”

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Multiple myeloma is still considered an incurable disease, but Dr. Shah stressed that it is a disease that people can live with.

 

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

Dr. Nina Shah is a hematologist who specializes in the treatment of multiple myeloma, a type of cancer affecting the blood marrow. She treats patients at the Hematology and Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinic. Read More

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If you’ve had at least four treatments that have not worked or stopped working you might be a candidate for a treatment called CAR T Therapy.

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CAR-T Therapy for Multiple Myeloma

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