Non-surgical treatment of multiple myeloma
If you have been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, there are many treatment options that do not involve surgical procedures. Non-surgical treatment of multiple myeloma can help shrink tumors and prolong life, preventing or reducing the need for surgery.
These treatments can include:
- Chemotherapy, which can help shrink the tumor and kill off cancer cells. It is a systemic treatment with many side effects, but it is effective when the disease is in an advanced stage.
- Radiation, which can kill cancer cells limited to a small space of the body. It doesn’t have the same side effects as chemotherapy, but localized side effects on the skin and soft tissues are sometimes painful and difficult to handle
- Another option is immunotherapy, which uses your own immune system to kill cancer cells. Immunotherapy can also be combined with other treatments, such as chemotherapy.
