Four Important Questions To Ask When Planning To Treat Multiple Myeloma

Four Important Questions To Ask When Planning To Treat Multiple Myeloma

Four important questions to ask when planning to treat multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma is the cancer of bone marrow. It causes the destruction of the bone cells which leads to fractures, pain, and spinal compression. Many people suffering from this type of cancer are not able to diagnose the symptoms by themselves. This can lead to further complications which can make the disease terminal in many cases. Therefore, it is necessary to know different types of multiple myeloma treatments based on its stages. It is equally important to consult an oncologist for the various types of treatments and choose the one that best suits the patient’s symptoms and condition. Read the following queries and their answers, as they will help you know more about the symptoms, stages, and the various forms of multiple myeloma treatments.

How can multiple myeloma be treated in the initial stages?

There are in all three stages of multiple myeloma. The initial stages of multiple myeloma treatments have the following options:

  • Chemotherapy : This form of treatment uses medicines to treat cancer cells and inhibit its growth. As multiple myeloma are a type of cancer cells, it affects the growth of normal cells. Thus, when a patient is injected with medicines, it affects and kills both cancerous as well as the normal cells. Side effects of chemotherapy include a lowered immune system, nausea, hair loss, and more.
  • Antibodies : A type of immunotherapy, these are types of medicines that help in enhancing the immune system’s cancer-fighting ability. Multiple myeloma treatment of this type has fewer side effects as compared to chemotherapy.
  • HDAC inhibitors : This type of multiple myeloma treatment is used in any stage of multiple myeloma. This inhibitor targets and kills malignant cells by spotting the histone deacetylases (HDAC) protein.

What are the symptoms of multiple myeloma?

Following are the symptoms of multiple myeloma:

  • A person suffering from multiple myeloma might experience pain in bones, including spine, hips, and skull.
  • Multiple myelomas also result in weakening of bones called osteoporosis and plasmacytoma.
  • The person might also experience low blood count because the growth of malignant cells crowds out the normal blood cells
  • High levels of calcium might result in extreme thirst, frequent urination, dehydration, constipation, loss of appetite, weakness, drowsiness, and even kidney problems.

How would you know if multiple myeloma has entered the metastatic stage?

  • When cancer becomes metastatic, it means that the malignant cells from a localized spot have moved to the lymph nodes.
  • Once these malignant cells reach the lymph nodes, they multiply at a faster rate and spread to the different parts of the body.
  • The metastatic stage is an advanced stage of any form of cancer. In case of multiple myeloma, it is Stage III cancer that has a serum beta-2 microglobulin level of greater than 5.5. If the person is experiencing similar symptoms at this stage, then it is referred to as relapsed multiple myeloma. Some of the common symptoms at this stage are an advanced weakness, frequent infections, weight loss, muscle weakness, and nausea among many others.

How can the metastatic stage of multiple myeloma be treated?

Following are some treatment options for metastatic multiple myeloma:

  • Immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) : This treatment uses a particular set of medicines that regulate certain aspects of the immune system. This treatment is also called as pomalyst myeloma treatment. They activate the immunity-providing cells and inhibit the growth of certain malignant cells by sending them signals chemically to stop or localize their growth.
  • Proteasome inhibitors : These are inhibitors that treat multiple myeloma in its different stages. Proteasomes are protein complexes that help in disposing of old proteins and replacing the newer version. The inhibiting medicine prevents cancer from producing a newer form of protein.
  • Steroids : This form of medicine decreases inflammation by stopping white blood cells from flowing into the disease-affected areas. This eventually helps in relieving pain and pressure due to other symptoms and side effects of the treatment.

Related Reading

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Most of the dogs do not have a food fuss and may eat almost anything that you feed them. Dogs are not choosy at all when it comes to food and nutrition. Hence, it is important to make sure that the food that you are purchasing for your dog is healthy. The landscape of dog food has been developing by leaps and bounds in recent times. There is a wide variety of options to choose from in the online and offline market. Given the wide range of options that are available today, buying the best dog food might seem to be a confusing task indeed. All the commercial pet food that is available in the market today is regulated by the FDA. Therefore, most of the products do contain nutritious, healthy, and safe ingredients. But it does help to know certain basic factors you should look for while buying food for your dog. Prioritize on the nutritional guarantee The best dog food, which meets the dog’s needs adequately has a statement written on the label of the product, from the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Buy from some of the best dog food brands, such as Fromm Family Foods, Earthborn Holistic, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and The Honest Kitchen.
Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

The most important aspect when designing your kitchen is deciding on the type of cabinets. In addition to functionality, kitchen cabinets score on aesthetics as well. Once the layout is planned, you can go ahead with choosing the cabinets. If you’re remodeling your home or just the kitchen, what you need to consider are the types of cabinets that furnish your kitchen. Here are a few types of kitchen cabinets that you can choose from. Base cabinets These kitchen cabinets are mounted on the floor and they are placed after checking out the floor plan. A major part of your job in the kitchen is on these base cabinets, which hold and support the countertops. These base cabinets are combined to carve out kitchen islands. A number of base cabinets are fused/set against one another and installed on site. The base cabinets, in addition to supporting the countertops, serve as drawers to hold your cutlery and appliances. Wall cabinets Mounted on the walls, these cabinets can store everything, right from your cookware to cookbooks. In terms of design, they offer utmost flexibility. Wall cabinet kitchen is available in varying heights, multiple widths, and custom depth options. This customization helps you to fit in your stuff of varying shapes and sizes into the wall cabinets.
How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

In today’s world, where you are presented with over a dozen choices for every item you would purchase for your own kitchen, it is not surprising that you have an equal number of options for your dog’s food. However, choosing the perfect brand and formula for your dog out of a range of options in the market is not an easy job. Your pet depends on you and trusts you to make the right choice for them. Therefore, it is imperative that you do your research about the products available in the market, understand what your dog needs, know what might be your pet’s problems, and then make a sound decision. What is a sensitive stomach? Dogs are known to have voracious and large appetites. Keeping that in mind, it is normal to assume that they have strong stomachs. They can eat close to anything be it sweets, bakes, chewy gum, hard leather or even woolen socks for that matter! It always so happens that the strongest of them are prone to allergies and can develop a disorder which is medically translated as a sensitive stomach. This might be due to a sudden change in the food habits or even due an infection picked up from somewhere.
All You Need to Know about Cat Food

All You Need to Know about Cat Food

For cat owners, cat food is a hot topic. You need to think about it in different aspects. The best thing is to know which ingredients are good for cat food and which are harmful. If you are aware of this, you can get an idea about the quality of the cat food just by going through the label. It is always sensible to stick to one brand of cat food. However, you may also want to try and prepare cat food yourself. There are also various options for wet cat food as well. Cat’s love for fish is universal, so you can do without going for expensive cat food. Nevertheless, whether you buy it or prepare cat food at home, you need to ensure that the food contains enough nutrition and calories. You would need to have some idea about the ingredients that must be present in cat food and make a worthy selection for your cat. Basic ingredients present in good cat foods Cats need a variety of nutrients to stay healthy and active; they need various vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, and oils. The following is a brief explanation of the basic ingredients that should be present in cat foods.