Multiple myeloma is a type of blood cancer. It starts in your bone marrow, the spongy tissue inside bones.

Multiple myeloma can be tricky. That’s because it sometimes has no symptoms. Or the signs look like other illnesses.

Multiple myeloma, lymphoma, and leukemia are blood cancers. While they are alike in some ways, they affect you differently. 

A small number of people with multiple myeloma also may have amyloidosis, another serious blood disease.

What causes multiple myeloma? No one knows exactly, but certain things can raise your chances of getting this blood cancer.

You’re more likely to get multiple myeloma if a family member has it, but there’s not much evidence to suggest it’s inherited.

Your risk for multiple myeloma (MM) increases as you age. The average age for this type of blood cancer is 70.

Multiple myeloma is a rare type of blood cancer. The chances of getting it are 1 in 132. It’s more likely to affect men.

Multiple myeloma can cause lesions on your bones, visible in imaging tests, that raise your risk of cracks or breaks.

Multiple myeloma can be a difficult type of cancer to diagnose. For one thing, some people have no symptoms.

If your doctor thinks you may have multiple myeloma, you'll need blood, urine, imaging, and bone marrow tests. 

A Bence-Jones protein test is a urine test that looks for unusual levels of this protein.

There are several kinds of multiple myeloma. There also are many precancerous conditions that can sometimes lead to MM.

Smoldering multiple myeloma is an early form of multiple myeloma. You might hear your doctor call it asymptomatic.

Sometimes the first treatment you try doesn't work. Your doctor might call this primary refractory multiple myeloma.

Many doctors refer to late-stage multiple myeloma as stage III. This is the stage you’re most likely to be in when diagnosed.