Cancers of the blood system disrupt the normal development and function of your blood cells. The bone marrow, from which blood is derived, is the typical starting point for these tumours. Red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets all originate from stem cells in the bone marrow.
Most blood cancers originate when an aberrant blood cell grows out of control, disrupting the normal blood cell formation process. It’s impossible for your blood to do its job of fighting off infections and stopping severe bleeding if it contains aberrant blood cells or malignant cells.
Here are the few major types of blood cancers that can affect:
In the case of leukaemia, a form of blood cancer, the bone marrow generates white blood cells that are incapable of fending off dangerous bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens. There are 4 main subtypes of leukaemia. Different subtypes are classified based on the specific types of white blood cells they target.
A measure of their growth pace (some kinds of leukaemia multiply, and others slowly). Acute leukaemia is what blood cancer doctors term leukaemia that progresses rapidly. Chronic leukaemia is the name given to a type of leukaemia that progresses slowly.
Different types of leukemia:
- Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL)
- Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
- Lymphoma
Lymphoma:
If you have lymphoma, you have lymph system cancer. Lymph nodes, spleen, and thymus gland blood arteries are all part of the enormous lymph system. These are important blood veins because they contain and carry white blood cells, which are a key component of your immune system. Lymphocytes are one sort of white blood cell that you possess. This is a breeding ground for leukaemia cells. Lymphoma is typically divided into two distinct subtypes.
- Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
- Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
Myeloma:
Myeloma is a malignancy of the plasma cells that begins in the bone marrow and spreads throughout the body. This alteration occurs in the white blood cell known as the Plasma B cell. Different types of myeloma include:
- Multiple Myeloma
- Plasmacytoma
- Localized Myeloma
- Extramedullary Myeloma
The major signs of blood cancer that can show:
- Fever, chills
- Persistent fatigue, weakness
- Loss of appetite, nausea
- Unexplained weight loss
- Night sweats
- Bone/joint pain
- Abdominal discomfort
- Headaches
- Shortness of breath
- Frequent infections
- Itchy skin or skin rash
- Lymph nodes that are swollen in the neck, armpits, or groin.
Various risk factors associated with blood cancer include:
- Aging
- Certain infections
- Weak immune system
- Smoking or tobacco use
- Family history of leukemia
- Blood disorders such as myelodysplastic syndrome
- Radiation therapy or cancer treatment history
- The use of petrochemicals and other compounds like benzene can cause serious health problems.
- Those predisposed to the disease by, say, Down’s syndrome, have a higher chance of getting leukaemia than the general population.
- Viruses such as HIV
The treatment options for blood cancer can include:
The treatment that is best suited for your leukaemia will depend on a variety of factors. Your age and overall health, the type of leukaemia you have, and whether or not cancer has spread to other regions of your body, including the central nervous system, are all factors that your blood cancer specialist doctor will consider when deciding which leukaemia treatment options are best for you.
The following are examples of common treatments used in the fight against leukaemia:
Chemotherapy:
The majority of patients diagnosed with leukaemia are treated with chemotherapy. Chemicals are utilised in this pharmacological treatment in order to eradicate leukaemia cells.
It is possible that you will be treated with a single treatment or a combination of drugs. This will be determined by the type of leukaemia that you have. These medications may be taken orally in the form of a pill, or they may be given through injection into a vein.
Targeted therapy:
Treatments with targeted drugs are aimed specifically at the abnormalities that are found within cancer cells. Targeted medication treatments can kill cancer cells by preventing these aberrations from occurring in cancer cells. In order to determine whether or not targeted therapy will be beneficial for you, the cells from your leukaemia will be evaluated. Reach out to the best hematologist in Coimbatore to undergo the blood cancer treatment.
Radiation therapy:
In radiation therapy, leukaemia cells are harmed by X-rays or other high-energy beams in order to stop their proliferation and put an end to the disease. During radiation therapy, you will lie on a table as a big machine rotates around you, targeting specific areas of your body with radiation.
Either a localised dose of radiation will be administered to a particular region of your body where there is a concentration of leukaemia cells, or you may be exposed to radiation all over your body. In order to get ready for a bone marrow transplant, some patients undergo radiation therapy.
Bone marrow transplant for leukemia:
By removing diseased bone marrow and replacing it with leukemia-free stem cells that will regenerate healthy bone marrow, a bone marrow transplant, which is sometimes referred to as a stem cell transplant, assists in the process of reestablishing healthy stem cells.
An extremely high dose of chemotherapy or radiation therapy is typically administered to a patient before a bone marrow transplant in order to eradicate any leukemia-causing cells in the patient’s bone marrow. After that, you will receive a transfusion of blood-forming stem cells, which will assist in the reconstruction of your bone marrow.
You might get stem cells from a donor, or you might be able to use your own stem cells instead. Both of these options are possible.
Treatments may be used by your leukemia specialists to reduce the cancer’s progression, halt its spread, or even completely eradicate it.
Before agreeing to a course of therapy, it’s important to fully grasp the prognosis your doctor has established. To be informed about the potential outcomes of therapy is a basic human right.
To alleviate symptoms, your doctor may also employ palliative or supportive treatment.
Reach out to the best hospital for blood cancer to get the right treatment possible.