In the past these stem cells were always obtained by taking bone marrow. This is easier than taking bone marrow and does not require a general anaesthetic. As this is an aggressive treatment, it is usually only given to people under 65-70 years, although your general health is the main deciding factor rather than your age. An experimental treatment that is being tried is donor stem cell transplant. You usually have to be under 55 to have this treatment and you must have a brother or sister with matching bone marrow to your own.
Side effects Chemotherapy tablets for myeloma often cause very few unwanted side effects.
If it is necessary to have chemotherapy by injection to treat the myeloma, more side effects are usually experienced. However, as not all the drugs cause the same effects and some people will be more affected than others, it is best to ask your doctor what to expect. Contact the Cancer Support Service if you would like to know more. While the chemotherapy drugs are acting on the myeloma cells in your body, they may also reduce temporarily the number of normal cells in your blood. When these cells are reduced, you are more likely to get an infection and you may tire easily.