Learning about Multiple Myeloma
- NBC-Affiliated TV reporter Boyd Huppert recently shared the news of his multiple myeloma diagnosis.
- Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer involving plasma cells a certain kind of mature white blood cell in the bone marrow that helps fight infection by producing proteins that help your immune system fend itself against germs.
- For people with multiple myeloma, cancerous plasma cells, or myelomas, grow uncontrollably in the bone marrow and crowd out healthy white blood cells. This, in turn, inhibits the immune system’s ability to fight off infection which leads to fatigue. Blood cancers, in general, typically mean that your bone marrow is not functioning correctly.
Huppert, 59, is an award-winning journalist for KARE 11 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Over the years he’s won 20 National Edward R. Murrow Awards, a national Emmy for feature reporting, 128 regional Emmys and the Scripps Howard Award, among other recognitions. In addition to his work as a general assignment reporter, he also hosts the station’s weekly Land of 10,000 Stories segment.
Read More“It’s a punch in the gut,” he told KARE 11. “You try to bargain a little bit, you try to think it’s not real, then acceptance came pretty quickly.”
Even though Huppert was floored by the incurable diagnosis, his doctors assured him that “we can fix you.” He’s already begun chemotherapy treatments, and he’ll have a bone marrow transplant most likely early next year.
“I have a fighting chance because of early detection,” he explained. “I’m going to get extra years because of early detection.”
What is Multiple Myeloma?
Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer involving plasma cells a certain kind of mature white blood cell in the bone marrow that helps fight infection by producing proteins that help your immune system fend itself against germs. So, in order to understand multiple myeloma, it's important to talk about the bone marrow.
"The bone marrow is the factory that makes all of the cells that wind up in our bloodstream," Dr. Mikkael Sekeres, the chief of the Division of Hematology at the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, previously told SurvivorNet.
The bone marrow makes red blood cells which bring oxygen to our tissues, white blood cells which fight infections and platelets which help stop bleeding. For people with multiple myeloma, cancerous plasma cells, or myelomas, grow uncontrollably in the bone marrow and crowd out healthy white blood cells. This, in turn, inhibits the immune system’s ability to fight off infection which leads to fatigue.
Eventually, the myelomas grow too large in the bone marrow which can cause bone fractures. Myelomas can also lead to kidney damage because these cancerous cells release abnormally high levels of antibodies into the bloodstream which eventually build up in the kidney since its unable to process these extra proteins.
University of California at San Francisco hematologist-oncologist Dr. Nina Shah says cases of multiple myeloma can be grouped into categories that help physicians decide on the appropriate courses of treatment.
"We tend to [divide them] based on how risky the myeloma is, whereas other cancers will be staged based on how far the cancer has spread," Dr. Shah previously told SurvivorNet.
The three stages of myeloma include the following:
- High risk multiple myeloma when a patient's cells contain missing segments of DNA or switched segments.
- Intermediate risk multiple myeloma when some of these DNA changes are not present but a patient has elevated levels of certain proteins in the blood.
- Low risk multiple myeloma when a patient has none of these changes.
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Technically, there is no cure for this disease, but recent advances in medicine have made room for hope especially with early diagnoses.
"This is still considered an incurable disease," Dr. Shah said. "But we want to make sure we make people understand that it’s a disease that you can live with not necessarily have to die of."
Understanding Blood Cancer
Blood cancers, in general, can affect the bone marrow, blood cells, lymph nodes and other parts of the lymphatic system. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society reports that every 3 minutes, one person in the U.S. is diagnosed with a blood cancer.
What is a Blood Cancer How is it Different?
Dr. Nina Shah has previously told SurvivorNet that having a blood cancer generally means your bone marrow is not functioning correctly which can lead to conditions like anemia a deficiency of healthy red blood cells.
"Or you can have low platelets, which makes it possible for you to bleed easily. Or your immune system is not functioning correctly. And you can have infections that most people won't have," Dr. Shah said. "One cell got really selfish. And decided that it needed to take up all the resources of everybody else. And, in doing so, took up space and energy from the rest of the body."
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