Multiple Myeloma Treatment Methods

There are several multiple myeloma treatment methods available for treating this disease.

Research still goes on to find the exact multiple myeloma cause.

Though the multiple myeloma cause exactly is not known various risk factors are known associated with the disease.

Multiple Myeloma Causes

The most important risk factors to be noted are the weakened immune system, the genetic factors, occupational hazards, lifestyle, exposure to certain substances or chemicals or radiations and viruses may also be the multiple myeloma causes.

The multiple myeloma causes may be also linked to age factor as this p roves to be the risk factor for this disease as well apart from the above mentioned risk factors. Most of the cases diagnosed are over the 40 years of age and some over 70 years.

The process behind this is explained as susceptibility for developing the disease increases as age precedes therefore all the cases of this multiple myeloma are diagnosed in elderly people.

There are various multiple myeloma treatment options for the patient. The method of multiple myeloma treatment opted depends totally on the stage of the cancer and the symptoms. (Multiple Myeloma Symptoms)

Once the symptoms are predicted and proved to be those of multiple myeloma then the best opted treatment would be the use of anti cancer drugs or the chemotherapy method of  multiple myeloma treatment. This method is implemented either orally or through the veins.

The other methods of multiple myeloma treatment include the stem cell transplantation and the radiation therapy as well.

Multiple Myeloma Treatment with Chemotherapy

The chemotherapy method of multiple myeloma treatment includes the use of various anti cancer drugs which act differently on the cancer cells. The chemotherapy is termed as the systemic method of treatment as the drugs are carried to the entire body through the blood stream. Most often the combination of drugs in regular cycles will be given for better results.

Multiple Myeloma Treatment with Radiation Therapy

This method of multiple myeloma treatment involves the use of high-energy rays to kill myeloma cells and to help control the symptoms severity specially the pain.

The Radiation therapy is given in different two ways. They are the local radiation which aims to shrink the tumor or the cancer in a specified area or location in the body.

A large machine aims radiation at the bone or the part of the body which is affected. This is given in regular and short cycles to control the growth of the tumors as well as relieve pain.

The other method of multiple myeloma treatment through radiation involves the total-body irradiation. Some patients receive radiation to their whole body before stem cell transplantation. This is generally preferred in very advanced stages of the disease.

Stem Cell Transplantation

This is used in some patients along with the standard methods of multiple myeloma treatments. After the chemotherapy or the radiation therapy there are high chances of normal healthy cells destroying and making the patient weak to compensate the destruction of normal cells the stem cell transplants are implanted to make up the loss.

Stem cells may come from the patient or from a donor. If the stem cells are taken from the same patient and preserved before the standard treatments are performed and later induced into the patient back it is autologous stem cell transplantation.

If the stem cells are taken from another person say donor then it is allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Another method of multiple myeloma treatment includes the syngeneic stem cell transplantation where the stem cells are taken from the identical twin of the patient. This method is used in patients who have identical twins and are suffering from multiple myeloma.