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Does anyone else have MGUS?

Blood Cancers & Disorders | Last Active: 21 hours ago | Replies (854)
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@gina5009

I am relatively new to this club also. What is CRAB criteria. I will be seeing my Hematologist the end of this month and would like to know if I have some questions I should be asking.
Gina5009

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Replies to "I am relatively new to this club also. What is CRAB criteria. I will be seeing..."
Lori, Volunteer Mentor | @loribmt | Jul 4, 2023

Hi @gina5009 CRAB criteria is a means of staging multiple myeloma.
Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS) may transition to smoldering myeloma and possibly multiple myeloma over time.
Multiple Myeloma (MM) has specific characteristics that often won’t show up in a patient with MGUS until it starts progressing.

Those are referred to as CRAB criteria for helping to stage Multiple Myeloma.
~elevated Calcium
~renal failure
~anemia
~bone lesions

So if someone has MGUS and have none of the criteria for MM their doctor may defer testing until later. However, not every doctor is the same and being proactive with tests such as a bone marrow biopsy at an earlier stage such as MGUS can set a bench mark reference point for the future.

Here is an article about diagnosis Multiple Myeloma. I’m only putting this out so that you can see what CRAB stands for.
https://www.healthline.com/health/multiple-myeloma/crab-multiple-myeloma
I know you love to research and you do your homework so have your list of questions ready for your doctor. Is this your first meeting with the hematologist?

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