Myeloma is a rare cancer with fairly general symptoms, so a diagnosis is often delayed.
A diagnosis is almost always made by a hospital specialist, although a GP may initially suspect it and refer you to hospital for a number of tests.
The GP will examine you to check for bruising, bleeding, signs of infection and any other clues that you may have myeloma.
They will also take blood and urine tests.
Blood tests are useful for three reasons:
- they can determine whether you have abnormal antibodies in your blood
- they can find out whether your calcium levels are higher than usual
- they can count how many red and white blood cells and platelets you have (this is known as a full blood count)
A urine test can determine whether there's any underlying damage to your kidneys.
If your GP suspects you may have myeloma, they will refer you to a consultant haematologist (a specialist in blood diseases) for further tests.
Further tests
The haematologist will carry out the same assessments and may order more blood or urine tests.
If blood and urine tests suggest you may have myeloma, the next step is to assess the state of your bones.
A series of X-rays are used to check for any bone damage. Bone damage caused by multiple myeloma will often show up as dark areas on the X-rays.
If the results of the X-rays are unclear, you may also be given a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan or a computerised tomography (CT) scan.
A biopsy is the final stage in confirming a diagnosis of multiple myeloma. A needle is used to take a small sample of bone marrow from one of your bones, usually the hip.
The biopsy will be carried out under a local anaesthetic (the area is numbed) so it isn't painful. The sample of bone marrow will be studied in a laboratory to check whether there are any cancerous plasma cells.
