Multiple myeloma is the second most common blood cancer in the
U.S., with an estimated 70,000 adult Americans living with the
disease and another 21,000 new cases expected to be diagnosed in
2012. According to Dr. James Berenson, medical and scientific
director at the Institute for Myeloma & Bone Cancer Research in
Hollywood, Calif., “Many people with cancer focus on questions
about the cancer itself, so they often don’t think to ask how
the rest of their body will be affected. This is especially
important for people with multiple myeloma, which goes
undiagnosed until the disease has spread to the bone in up to 95
percent of cases.” Once the disease has spread, patients will
likely have bone pain in the back or ribs due to bone lesions,
or growths that form on the bone, which may cause difficulty
walking. Additionally, patients’ bones may easily break or they
may experience loss of appetite, nausea, thirst, fatigue,
weakness or numbness. Unfortunately, it is often difficult for
people to differentiate bone pa