Who’s on your myeloma care team?
Fact-checked by Every myeloma journey is unique. Your specific symptoms, disease stage, and subtype should help shape your care team, ensuring your treatment is tailored to your exact needs.
No matter which specialists are involved, the goal is to have a coordinated, comprehensive, multidisciplinary team working together to support your care, treatment, and daily life with myeloma. Understanding what each specialist does and when to see them can help you stay well, engaged, and emotionally cared for.
Hematologist-oncologist
At cancer treatment centers, a hematologist, a medical oncologist, or a dual-trained hematologist-oncologist will typically lead and coordinate your myeloma care.
They help assemble your care team and develop and manage your treatment plan, based on factors such as your individual disease characteristics and preferences. The hematologist-oncologist is responsible for monitoring treatment response, managing complications and side effects, and interpreting blood and urine tests to track organ function.
When to see: Visit your hematologist-oncologist for regular monitoring for disease progression, relapses, or complications, and if you experience any new symptoms, such as bone pain, fatigue, or numbness.
General practitioner
General practitioners (or primary care physicians) help coordinate care outside cancer centers. Your general practitioner serves as your primary point of contact for routine health issues, while collaborating with your hematologist-oncologist to provide continuous care.
They also monitor your overall health, address any non-myeloma health conditions, and help manage side effects from myeloma therapies, which can range from stem cell transplant to corticosteroids.
When to see: Visit your general practitioner for routine checkups, general health management, infection prevention and management, and consultation for myeloma treatment side effects.
Nurse practitioner
At cancer care centers, a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant is your day-to-day contact for addressing issues such as symptoms and treatment side effects. They can meet with you during office visits and answer your questions, handle medication refills, and educate you about treatments.
Nurse practitioners are often involved in adjusting medications, managing side effects, and helping coordinate care between appointments. They also monitor for signs of relapse, in which the cancer returns after initially responding to treatment, and offer emotional support.
When to see: Book your nurse practitioner for regular checkups, any new or worsening side effects, signs of infection, or new or increased symptoms. You may also see them for help with prescriptions or to better understand your treatments.
Infusion nurse
In hospital, outpatient infusion, academic center, and in-home settings, these specialized infusion nurses administer intravenous therapies, such as targeted treatments and immunotherapies. They will also monitor you for infusion-related adverse reactions and provide education on side effects.
The nurse also works closely with your hematologist-oncologist and pharmacists to ensure that treatments are tailored to your needs and that lab values are reviewed before administration.
When to see: See your infusion nurse regularly throughout your myeloma journey for pre-treatment assessments, treatment administration, and monitoring.
Radiation oncologist
This specialist is primarily responsible for using targeted radiation to ease pain caused by bone lesions, help prevent or treat fractures in weakened bones, and relieve pressure on the spinal cord.
Radiation oncologists work closely with your hematologist‑oncologist to integrate radiation with your other myeloma treatments and monitor for side effects such as fatigue, skin irritation in the treated area, and nausea.
When to see: Consult a radiation oncologist to treat painful bone lesions, prevent or treat fractures, and address spinal cord compression.
Orthopedic surgeon
In myeloma, an orthopedic surgeon helps protect and strengthen bones weakened by the disease. Their main goals are to reduce pain, prevent fractures, and help you stay as mobile and independent as possible.
They treat problems such as broken bones, high-risk fractures, and spinal instability. In some cases, they may recommend surgery to stabilize a bone before it fractures. This can involve placing rods, screws, or plates to support the bone and reduce pain.
An orthopedic surgeon — often one with experience in treating cancer-related bone disease — works closely with your hematologist-oncologist to coordinate surgery with other myeloma treatments.
They will use minimally invasive procedures whenever possible to manage complications, although open surgery may sometimes be required for more complex problems.
When to see: See your orthopedic surgeon for management of bone-related complications, such as significant bone pain, fractures, bones that are likely to break, or signs of spinal cord compression.
Nephrologist
A nephrologist is a kidney specialist. They work with your hematologist to help you preserve kidney function, manage acute renal failure, adjust doses of anti-myeloma or supportive medications based on kidney function, and start on kidney dialysis, if needed.
They may also recommend and interpret kidney biopsies to understand the cause and extent of kidney damage and guide treatment.
When to see: Visit your nephrologist if your kidney function suddenly worsens, if blood or urine tests suggest significant kidney damage, if you develop severe or difficult-to-control high calcium levels, or if you need help managing medications that require dosage adjustments due to kidney damage.
Social worker
Your social worker can provide emotional support, counseling, and practical assistance to you and your caregivers. They help you navigate needs such as transportation, insurance coverage, counseling, child care, senior care, and financial barriers.
The social worker can also help you navigate the healthcare system and connect you with resources.
When to see: See your social worker if you need transportation to appointments, a language translator during treatment, or if you’re experiencing other daily challenges that require resources or psychological support.
Rare Cancer News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
