Early diagnosis

The more I learn about this disease, and the more stories I read from fellow myeloma patients, the more obvious it becomes that early diagnosis is very important.
I was lucky - we could have got there a few weeks or even a couple of months earlier than we did, but it wasn't a matter of years. And some people do go through years of intense refractory back pain (and etc.) before anyone thinks of Myeloma as a possible explanation. By that time skeletal damage is serious with spine and hips almost crumbling away, and kidney & liver functions will probably be severely impaired. Even with the best treatment, some of that damage will never be recovered and access to stem cell transplant may be limited.
Anyone with back pain / bone pain that doesn't respond to rest & painkillers should be tested for paraproteins as a matter of routine.