WALDENSTROM’S MACROGLOBULINEMIA

Overview and Facts

Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia is a type of cancer that starts in the white blood cells of people who have this syndrome. This condition occurs when too many aberrant white blood cells are produced by your bone marrow, crowding away good blood cells.

Doctors believe that the disease starts with a single aberrant white blood cell that acquires genetic code flaws (mutations). The error tells the cell to keep replicating at a high rate.

Because cancer cells do not mature and subsequently die like normal cells, they accumulate and eventually outnumber healthy cell creation. Furthermore, Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia cells squeeze out healthy blood cells in the bone marrow.

SYMPTOMS

Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia grows slowly, and its symptoms may not even manifest over time.

However, if symptoms do manifest, here are some of the things you might feel:

  • Numbness in your hands or feet
  • Shortness of breath
  • Changes or loss of vision
  • Fever
  • Headache
  • Loss of strength
  • Nosebleeds
  • Dizziness 
  • Weakness
  • Bruising
  • Swollen glands
  • Changes in mental status
  • Loss of coordination
  • Weight loss

If you experience any of these symptoms, it would be best to immediately seek professional help.

Types and Symptoms

SYMPTOMS

Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia grows slowly, and its symptoms may not even manifest over time.

However, if symptoms do manifest, here are some of the things you might feel:

  • Numbness in your hands or feet
  • Shortness of breath
  • Changes or loss of vision
  • Fever
  • Headache
  • Loss of strength
  • Nosebleeds
  • Dizziness 
  • Weakness
  • Bruising
  • Swollen glands
  • Changes in mental status
  • Loss of coordination
  • Weight loss

If you experience any of these symptoms, it would be best to immediately seek professional help.

Diagnosis & Medications

DIAGNOSIS

In order to diagnose Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia, the following procedures are administered :

  • Bone marrow testing. Your doctor will take bone marrow from your hip bone with a needle.
  • Biopsy. A tissue sample will be taken from you and examined under the microscope.
  • Blood Test. This determines your IgM level, as well as your blood thickness.

TREATMENTS

The treatment options for Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia may include:

  • Chemotherapy. This is a medical procedure that gets rid of fast-growing cells, such as aberrant blood cells. This can also be used to prepare a patient for a bone marrow transplant.
  • Biotherapy. This type of treatment involves the use of medicine that boosts your immune system and fights cancerous cells. Furthermore, this can be used alone or administered with other treatments and medications.
  • Stem cell transplant. In this treatment, doctors will remove your damaged bone marrow through highly dosed chemotherapy and replace them with healthy blood stem cells.
  • Bendamustine. It is an anti-cancer drug used when you are initially diagnosed with the condition. 
  • Surgery. In some cases, surgical procedures are carried out. This may reduce or eliminate the symptoms for a long time. However, the symptoms of this disease may reappear in people who had their spleen removed.

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