Blood Cancer
Blood cancer influences how your body creates blood cells and how well they function. The majority of blood malignancies begin in the bone marrow, the soft, sponge-like material found in the middle of your bones. Your bone marrow produces stem cells, which mature into red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Normal blood cells combat infection, transport oxygen around the body, and control bleeding. Blood cancer occurs when something impairs your body’s ability to produce blood cells. If you have blood cancer, abnormal blood cells outnumber normal blood cells, causing a chain reaction of medical issues. More people are living longer lives with blood cancer because of improved treatments.
Types of blood cancer
There are three types of blood cancer, each of which has several subtypes. The cancer types and subtypes are:
- Leukemia
- Lymphoma
- Myeloma
Causes
Blood cancer develops when the DNA of blood cells changes or mutates, but researchers are unsure why this occurs. Your DNA informs cells what to do. In blood cancer, DNA instructs blood cells when to grow, divide, multiply, and/or die. When DNA provides new instructions to your cells, your body produces aberrant blood cells that grow and multiply faster than normal, and sometimes survive longer. When this occurs, regular blood cells are lost among an ever-increasing horde of aberrant cells that overwhelm your normal cells and dominate space in your bone marrow.
Symptoms
Blood cancer symptoms differ depending on the type, although there are several symptoms that all three share:
- Fatigue
- Persistent fever
- Drenching night sweats
- Unusual bleeding or bruising
- Unexpected or unexplained weight loss
- Frequent infections
- Swollen lymph nodes or an enlarged liver or spleen
- Bone pain
Diagnosis
Healthcare practitioners may begin a diagnosis by inquiring about your symptoms and medical history. They will conduct comprehensive physical examinations. They may also prescribe several types of blood and imaging testing. The tests they use may differ depending on the type of blood cancer they suspect. Blood cancer can be diagnosed using the following tests:
- Complete blood count (CBC)
- Blood chemistry test
- Computed tomography (CT) scan
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan
- Positron emission tomography (PET) scan
- Bone marrow biopsies
- Blood cell examination
Treatment
Blood cancer treatment is not one-size-fits-all. Certain blood cancer types respond favorably to various treatments. Some blood cancer treatments cause serious negative effects. Before prescribing a treatment plan, healthcare specialists take into account aspects such as your age, overall health, kind of blood cancer, and specific therapy side effects. Some common treatments for blood cancer are:
- Chemotherapy
- Radiation therapy
- Immunotherapy
- Targeted therapy for cancer
- CAR T-cell therapy
- Autologous stem cell transplant
- Allogeneic stem cell transplant
Prevention
Blood cancer develops when blood cell DNA changes or mutates. Researchers don’t sure why this happens, making it difficult to identify precise activities people might take to lower their risk. However, researchers have identified many elements that appear to have a role in the genetic change:
- Radiation exposure.
- Certain chemicals.
- Decreased immunity because of infections.
- A family history of blood cancer.
- Inherited conditions that increase the likelihood of developing blood cancer.
Conclusion
Blood cancer is a complex and difficult disease, but advances in research and treatment have dramatically increased survival rates and quality of life for many people. If you have any symptoms or are at risk of developing blood cancer, you should see a doctor right away. Early detection and a personalized treatment strategy can significantly increase the likelihood of successful treatment and recovery.
