Understanding Myeloma

About 20,580 Americans will be diagnosed with myeloma this year. It is estimated that approximately 66,529 people in the United States are living with or are in remission from myeloma.

Myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells, a type of white cell found in many tissues of the body, but primarily in the bone marrow. Plasma cells are part of the body’s immune system.

Normal plasma cells make antibodies, which help fight infection. Myeloma cells cannot help the body fight infection. As the myeloma cells grow in the marrow they crowd out the normal plasma cells. They also crowd out normal white cells, red cells and platelets.

Most people with myeloma are age 50 or older. Americans of African descent are diagnosed with myeloma about twice as often as Americans of European descent. People of Asian and Hispanic descent have lower rates of myeloma than other groups.

This is a hopeful time for myeloma patients. Progress towards a cure is under way. New myeloma drugs have been approved in the last few years and new treatments are being studied.