Different Blood Tests For The Detection of Blood Cancer

Posted by Shalini Portea on November 27th, 2018

If it has been suspected that you have cancer, you will need to undergo different kinds of tests which will help the doctors to detect the type of cancer you are suffering from or the exact location where the cancer has affected. Blood cancer is undoubtedly one of the most deadliest cancer which you can face. Blood tests conducted to detect blood cancer are really effective and they help the medical teams to get a lot of different information which helps in the whole process.

What are the Blood Tests Required to Detect Blood Cancer?

Unlike other cancer like lung cancer, blood cancer can be detected and a lot of information can be extracted from blood tests. Blood tests show how well your organs are functioning, the elements present in your blood stream and also the extent to which the cancerous cells might have spread. The most common blood tests include -

Complete blood count - with the help of this. Blood test the doctors measure the total amount of different blood cells present in the sample of blood. Blood cancer can be detected when there will be too many or abnormal blood cells. Nowadays, bone marrow biopsy also helps to detect blood cancer.

Blood protein testing - as the name suggests, this particular test is conducted to check the different abnormal proteins present in the blood stream. These are also known as immunoglobulins and an excess of these can later on cause blood cancer.

Tumor marker tests - certain chemicals in the blood known as tumor markers are produced by the tumour cells. These are produced by tumor cells and also by some normal cells as well.

Circulating tumor cell tests - one of the latest kind of blood test which has become really effective in identifying blood cancer is Circulating tumor cell tests. The test identifies any kind of carcinogenic cell which has broken away from the original cancer site and floating in the blood stream.

What are the Other Ways of Detecting Blood Cancer?

Apart from different blood tests which are conducted to detect blood cancer in humans, doctors also conduct other procedures like the Bone marrow exam, Diagnostic imaging tests — CT scan, PET scan, and x-ray, Physical exam and also Surgical lymph node removal.

While a person is diagnosed to check for cancer, the staging process is conducted simultaneously. Even though the staging process is much easier to conduct in cases of prostate cancer or some other less evasive cancer, when it comes to blood cancer the staging is quite difficult. Different kind of blood cancer in different people have their own criteria to be kept in mind.

What are the Symptoms of Blood Cancer?

Blood cancer has symptoms which are very much similar to cold or flu. That is the reason why sometimes people fail to understand whether they have a cancer or not. Here are some of the most common symptoms of blood cancer.

  • Coughing or significant chest pain
  • Fever or chills throughout the day
  • Frequent infections in different areas
  • Itchy skin or rashes may develop
  • Loss of appetite or nausea is common
  • Night sweats while sleeping
  • Persistent weakness and fatigue all the time

So all of these indicate the weakening of the metabolic system in the person affected and blood cancer might be imminent in most cases.

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Shalini Portea

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Shalini Portea
Joined: November 27th, 2018
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