Blood Cancers

Most blood cancers, also called hematologic cancers, start in the bone marrow, which is where blood is produced. Blood cancers occur when abnormal blood cells start growing out of control, interrupting the function of normal blood cells, which fight off infection and produce new blood cells. 

The three main types of blood cancer are leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma: 

Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer that begins in the blood’s plasma cells, a type of white blood cell derived from the bone marrow.

Plasma cells help to fight infections by making antibodies that recognize and attack germs. Multiple myeloma causes cancer cells to accumulate in the bone marrow, where they crowd out healthy blood cells. Rather than produce helpful antibodies, the cancer cells produce abnormal proteins that can cause complications.