Facts
Multiple myeloma is a blood, or hematologic, cancer that can affect your bones and kidneys as well as your levels of healthy blood cells.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center offers comprehensive myeloma treatment from a team of experts.
What is multiple myeloma?
Myeloma, or multiple myeloma, is cancer of a certain type of white blood cell called a plasma cell, which is part of your immune system. Myeloma begins in the bone marrow, where blood cells are made.

Types
Doctors can detect various levels of myeloma-related changes in the bone marrow, including small changes that do not amount to cancer. Here are different forms of myeloma or related conditions:
Symptoms
Symptoms of myeloma come from the build-up of myeloma cells in your marrow and from the M protein and chemicals that myeloma cells release.
Once symptoms begin, these symptoms are typical:
- Weakness and fatigue caused by anemia
- Swelling in the legs or weakness caused by kidney damage
- Bone pain from build-up of myeloma cells, often in the back or ribs
- Bone fracture, which may compress nerves or the spinal cord
- Confusion, tiredness, weakness, dehydration, unusual thirst, nausea, constipation or frequent urination caused by high blood calcium
- More frequent infection or trouble recovering from infection
- Excessive bleeding, including from minor injuries
The same symptoms can also be caused by other conditions. See your doctor if you have any symptoms that concern you.
Diagnosing
To find out whether you have myeloma, your doctor will do a thorough physical exam and ask about your health history. You will also need:
- Blood tests — to measure your levels of blood cells (complete blood count), look for chemicals that can be abnormal in myeloma (blood chemistry) and check for abnormal protein.
- Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy — removing a small amount of bone marrow and a small piece of bone from your pelvis using a needle to check for cancer and determine the percentage of myeloma cells in your marrow.
- Imaging studies — to tell whether myeloma has damaged or weakened your bones. X-rays are the standard imaging study. If your doctor needs more detailed images, they may recommend magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) scan or positron emission tomography (PET) scan.
Stages
Your doctor will also determine the stage of your disease, or how far along it is. The stage depends on:
- The amount of myeloma cells in your body
- The amount of damage the myeloma cells have caused
Doctors use the International Staging System to classify your disease as stage I, II or III, with I being the least advanced and III being the most advanced.