What are the types of blood cancers?
There are mainly 6 different groups of blood cancers
1. Acute leukemias
2. Chronic leukemias
3. Lymphomas
4. Multiple Myeloma
5. Myelodysplastic syndromes
6. Myeloproliferative neoplasms
Out of these Acute leukemias, lymphomas and Multiple myelomas require immediate attention and treatment. 2,5,6 are indolent diseases and they are not immediately life threatening.
Why are blood cancer patients sicker than other cancer patients?
This is because the cancer per say reduces the blood cell production in the bone marrow and whole body suffers from reduced oxygen delivery to tissues and reduced immunity due to low or abnormal white blood cells.
How does patients with blood cancers present?
They usually come with fever, loss of appetite, loss of weight, bleeding from nose, gums, skin, urine, stools or excessive menstrual bleeds, bone and joint pains and lumps in the neck, axilla, groin and sometimes in the abdomen or chest. Occasionally they come with fluid accumulation in the chest/abdomen, cough and neurological manifestations like headache.
How is blood cancer diagnosed ?
The clue comes from examining the patient and doing blood test- complete blood count. Confirmation is usually with help of bone marrow aspiration and biopsy test and sometimes lymphnode biopsy test. Following diagnosis, blood cancers require staging and risk stratification which are performed by special tests on bone marrow/ CT scan- PET Scan. Many a times cerebro spinal fluid is removed from back for assessing whether disease has infiltrated the brain or not. Confirmation of diagnosis and subsequent special tests are usually costly.
1. Acute leukemias
2. Chronic leukemias
3. Lymphomas
4. Multiple Myeloma
5. Myelodysplastic syndromes
6. Myeloproliferative neoplasms
Out of these Acute leukemias, lymphomas and Multiple myelomas require immediate attention and treatment. 2,5,6 are indolent diseases and they are not immediately life threatening.
Why are blood cancer patients sicker than other cancer patients?
This is because the cancer per say reduces the blood cell production in the bone marrow and whole body suffers from reduced oxygen delivery to tissues and reduced immunity due to low or abnormal white blood cells.
How does patients with blood cancers present?
They usually come with fever, loss of appetite, loss of weight, bleeding from nose, gums, skin, urine, stools or excessive menstrual bleeds, bone and joint pains and lumps in the neck, axilla, groin and sometimes in the abdomen or chest. Occasionally they come with fluid accumulation in the chest/abdomen, cough and neurological manifestations like headache.
How is blood cancer diagnosed ?
The clue comes from examining the patient and doing blood test- complete blood count. Confirmation is usually with help of bone marrow aspiration and biopsy test and sometimes lymphnode biopsy test. Following diagnosis, blood cancers require staging and risk stratification which are performed by special tests on bone marrow/ CT scan- PET Scan. Many a times cerebro spinal fluid is removed from back for assessing whether disease has infiltrated the brain or not. Confirmation of diagnosis and subsequent special tests are usually costly.
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