Either way, the drugs travel through the bloodstream, reaching myeloma cells all over the body. For this reason, chemotherapy is called systemic therapy. Most patients take their chemotherapy at home, as outpatients at the hospital, or at the doctor's office. However, depending on their health and the drugs being given, patients may need to stay in the hospital during treatment. In this form of treatment, a large machine aims the rays at a tumor and the area close to it.
Radiation therapy is the main treatment for people who have a single plasmacytoma.
They usually receive radiation therapy every weekday for 4 to 5 weeks in the outpatient department of a hospital or clinic. People who have multiple myeloma sometimes receive radiation therapy in addition to chemotherapy. The purpose of the radiation therapy is to help control the growth of tumors in the bones and relieve the pain that these tumors cause. Treatment usually lasts for 1 to 2 weeks. Because multiple myeloma is so hard to control, many researchers are looking for more effective treatments.