A fit and healthy woman who, though lifting weights and doing household work, caused her chronic back pain, was shocked to get a diagnosis of blood cancer. Sharn Hegan said, apart from being regular at the gym, she also took care of her health.

However, after finishing lifting, she injured her back, and when she tried to stretch it out, a week of pain turned into a long, continuous time of agony. Her trainer at the gym urged Sharn to see a physio. A physiotherapist suggested she had a problem with a disc and prescribed a string of exercises to help stretch the tissue between her vertebrae.

Initially, the pain subsided, but then one morning she suffered a huge setback. “I couldn't. I couldn’t sit. It was like someone was stabbing me in the back,” she recalls. “Later that day, I felt this sharp pain, and I sort of collapsed,” she says. “I thought maybe it was because I have low blood pressure and I hadn't eaten enough. But it wasn’t that. Then I went to see my physio and explained I couldn’t do any of the exercises anymore because I was in real pain,” she added.

Sharn got her MRI done, which showed an abnormality in her bones. A few more tests diagnosed her with multiple myeloma—a cancer that affects plasma cells, a type of white blood cell responsible for producing antibodies. In multiple myeloma, cancerous plasma cells build up in the bone marrow, crowding out healthy blood-forming cells and potentially leading to various complications like bone pain, anemia, and kidney failure. MRI scans can reveal the disease, which shows up as small dots in the bones.

Myeloma is a rare cancer, but according to statistics, its rates have increased by 10 per cent over the past decade and are predicted to continue increasing, with 8,300 new cases per year forecast by the 2030s.

After 18 months of her diagnosis, Sharn, who originally hails from Sri Lanka, was declared cancer-free after she took treatment that included immunotherapy and chemotherapy. She also underwent monthly blood tests to monitor her progress.

According to experts, multiple myeloma happens when healthy cells turn into abnormal cells that multiply and produce abnormal antibodies called M proteins. This change starts a cascade of medical issues and conditions that can affect your bones, your kidneys, and your body’s ability to make healthy white and red blood cells and platelets.

Some people have multiple myeloma without symptoms, but blood tests show signs of conditions that may become multiple myeloma. Doctors say while there is no known cure for multiple myeloma, various treatments can help people live as long as possible while having a quality of life. But there is a possibility for prolonged remission.

There are many symptoms of multiple myeloma, like bone pain, often the first sign you may notice. Other symptoms include:

Weakness in your arms and legs and/or a sensation of numbness in your arms and legs. Multiple myeloma can affect the bones in your spine, causing them to collapse and press on your spinal cord.

Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Health and around the world.