What can help multiple myeloma patients manage their pain? Hi, everyone, Doctor Joseph Mikhael here, Chief Medical Officer of the International Myeloma Foundation. And I'm going to break down pain management in myeloma in less than a minute. It's an unfortunate reality of multiple myeloma that many of our patients experience pain, and sometimes it can be really quite severe. There's no perfect formula for treating pain but let me approach it with you this way. Number one, control the myeloma. Very often it's the disease itself that is causing a lot of the pain that is damaging the bones and myeloma. So, we want to control the myeloma #2 not to be afraid of direct pain management. I know that often we can be afraid of taking painkillers, but given in the right circumstances, in the right way, they can really help our patients #3 there can be alternatives to pain management that can be given along with or instead of certain painkillers. Things that can strengthen the bones, things that can boost the body in general. And lastly, it's important to have the right healthcare team taking care of you, which may involve a pain specialist. All of these strategies together can really help patients manage their pain in the short term and indeed the long term.
For more information or if you have personal questions about multiple myeloma for yourself or a loved one, please reach out to us at Myeloma.org.
