The Josep Carreras Foundation publishes a practical guide on multiple myeloma for patients and carers

Multiple myeloma is a lesser-known blood cancer than leukaemia or lymphomas, but diagnosed each year in more than 3,000 people in Spain. Its conditions, treatment and sequelae are very specific and it can often be a challenge to live with myeloma.

Today we present a practical guide to multiple myeloma specifically for patients and their caregivers.

From the Foundation we wanted to explain in detail not only this disease and its current treatments, but also its physical and emotional impact. A holistic view of how to live with multiple myeloma.

Regarding physical issues, the guide explains especially bone lesions and peripheral neuropathy, which are very characteristic symptoms and sequelae of multiple myeloma and can be very painful. There are physiotherapy exercises and routines for them, among other things.

As far as emotional aspects are concerned, the guide offers useful resources, support groups, tips for managing uncertainty, among other interesting topics.

Another aspect to highlight is that we also wanted to take into account the caregiver, as he or she is also impacted by the disease. For this reason, the guide also offers tips and resources to help care, to care for oneself in order to care better and even specific topics such as discussions and food or organisation and work.

Thanks to the collaboration of Pfizer Spain, we have been able to make this guide a reality in order to provide patients not only with rigorous and accredited information on multiple myeloma from the medical direction of our Foundation, but also with many references to videos, podcasts, other graphic documents, patient’s stories, etc.