Working together to help maintain bone health in people with multiple myeloma

Posted: Thursday, November 1, 2012 12:00 am | Updated: 2:46 am, Wed Dec 5, 2012.

(BPT) - As we are reminded during National Family Caregivers Month in November, taking care of a loved one with an illness, such as cancer, can be both physically and emotionally challenging. For caregivers of the approximately 70,000 American adults currently living with the second most common blood cancer, multiple myeloma, there are additional responsibilities associated with taking care of their loved ones.

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells, a type of white blood cell found in the bone marrow. More than 21,000 new cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2012, and up to 95 percent of patients with advanced-stage multiple myeloma will experience the disease spreading to their bones. Once the disease has spread, patients may experience bone complications such as weakening of the bones and fractures. Specifically, African Americans are disproportionately affected by the disease – they are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with the disease than Caucasians – and the mortality rate for multiple myeloma in the U.S. is two times higher in the African American population compared to the Caucasian population.