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THE HEALTH | JANUARY-FEBRUARY , 2023
| Innovation |
BY BARBARA BRODY
CINDY Chmielewski had never heard of multiple myeloma until the day her doctor informed her that she had it . She recalls telling others about her diagnosis and having to correct them when they misunderstood and thought she had melanoma , a form of skin cancer , rather than myeloma , a type of blood cancer .
Prior to her diagnosis , Chmielewski spent two years seeing an orthopaedic surgeon for severe back pain . The doctor insisted that she had degenerative disc disease , a common cause of back pain .
But that wasn ’ t what was wrong with Chmielewski , and pain medication and physical therapy weren ’ t helping . Finally , the pain got so severe that she went back to the doctor in tears .
“ I was a fifth-grade teacher at the time , yet I couldn ’ t stand up long enough to be the playground monitor . I couldn ’ t take kids on field trips because the bumpy bus ride would be too painful ,” she says .
The doctor finally sent her for X-rays , which revealed numerous compression fractures in her back . Chmielewski was getting ready to undergo surgery to stabilise her spine when preop blood work came back “ totally abnormal .” She was quickly referred to a haematologist , who diagnosed her with multiple myeloma .
In the 14 years since , Chmielewski , now in remission , has made it her mission to educate herself , as well as the public , about the disease . She ’ s become an outspoken patient advocate who posts extensively on Twitter , speaks at medical conferences and
Five things we now know about Multiple Myeloma
Rates of this blood cancer have jumped but today , life expectancy has at least doubled in some cases , thanks to increased research , new learnings and innovative advances
shares her experience with pharmaceutical companies that are seeking patient input , including the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson .
Johnson & Johnson has been dedicated to developing innovative treatments for multiple myeloma for nearly 20 years and is committed to working toward its goal of one day eliminating the disease .
Here are five things we now understand about this cancer , including what advances may lie on the horizon .
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. Multiple myeloma may not cause any noticeable symptoms until the disease is advanced Multiple myeloma typically starts in the bone marrow , which is the birthplace of new blood cells and specifically is impacted by antibody-producing white blood cells known as plasma cells .(“ Multiple myeloma ” and “ myeloma ” can be used interchangeably ; “ multiple ” refers to the fact that the cancer often grows in multiple areas of the marrow .)
In healthy people , plasma cells make antibodies to multiple targets , protecting patients against all types of infections . In patients with multiple myeloma , however , plasma cells grow abnormally in an uncontrolled fashion , rendering the cells cancerous .
As these harmful cells build up in the bone marrow and often make an abnormal antibody called an M protein , there ’ s less room for healthy blood cells to grow . The result ? A potential lack of adequate red blood cells , platelets and other types of white blood cells needed to successfully fight off infections .
These issues often lead to the presence of clinical disease features and symptoms , known as CRAB criteria , explains Jordan Schecter , M . D ., Vice President , Cellular Therapy at Janssen .
CRAB stands for high Calcium levels ( which rise in the blood as bone is broken down ), Renal failure ( the M protein secreted by the cancerous plasma cells causes kidney damage ), Anemia ( due to lack of red blood cells ) and Bone lesions ( fractures are common due to breakdown of bone , often in the spine or ribs ).
While bone pain , fatigue and weakness can be tipoffs , many people with multiple myeloma don ’ t have any noticeable symptoms until the disease has advanced . When this cancer is detected early , it ’ s usually thanks to routine blood tests finding high protein levels in the blood , due to the abnormal M protein .
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. The disease is relatively rare , but it ’ s becoming more common Nearly 35,000 adults in the US are diagnosed with myeloma each year . That makes it a relatively rare cancer compared to breast cancer ( about 264,000 cases each year ) or lung cancer ( about 240,000 per year ), but it ’ s hardly an insignificant number . Also noteworthy is the fact that myeloma is on the rise . Worldwide , incidence jumped 126 per cent between