Huge advances have been made in the understanding of multiple myeloma. There are a variety of approaches for treating this blood cancer. The trick is to provide what’s best for the individual patient.

Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer that affects nearly 22,000 Americans every year. It develops in mostly older people when plasma cells in the bone marrow grow out of control.

Part of the treatment for especially severe cancers of the blood is to destroy all the cells in the bone marrow that are responsible for making both the good and bad parts of the blood with radiation therapy.

Health Canada, the Canadian version of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), has issued an alert regarding the medication REVLIMID (lenalidomide) that's used to treat multiple myeloma.

People living with the blood cancer multiple myeloma typically take two drugs in combination. The problem is these drugs don't work with every person and tend to fade in effectiveness over time.