All You Need to Know About Blood Cancer

Posted by vivek choudhary on February 11th, 2020

Blood cancer is a type of cancer that usually originates in the bone marrow and can affect the production and function of blood cells. The production of blood cells is maintained in the body by the bone marrow. Stem cells in the bone marrow mature and develop into three types of blood cells: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Blood cancer usually occurs with the uncontrolled production of abnormal cells. These abnormal cells prevent blood from performing many of its functions, like fighting off infections or preventing serious bleeding. Blood cancer is affected by several risk factors like age, sex, ethnicity, family factors, exposure to radiation and some pre-existing health conditions and treatments. Majorly, there are three types of blood cancer – leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma.

1.  Leukemia is caused by the rapid production of abnormal white blood cells. These abnormal white blood cells are not able to fight infection and impair the ability of the bone marrow to produce healthy red blood cells and platelets. Leukemia is divided into 4 types- Acute lymphocytic leukemia, the most common type of childhood cancer; Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), fast-growing cancer in myeloid cells; Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most common type of leukemia in adults; and Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), slow-growing cancer originated in myeloid cells.

2. Lymphoma affects the lymphatic system, which is responsible for removing excess fluids and producing immune cells. Lymphocytes are responsible for fighting infection. Abnormal lymphocytes turn into cancerous lymphoma cells, which further multiply and get collected in your lymph nodes and other tissues. Over time, these cancerous cells will impair your immune system. There are two types of lymphomas; Hodgkin’s lymphoma originates in the B lymphocytes and Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma which can originate in the B or T Lymphocytes.

3. Myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells. Plasma cells produce disease- and infection-fighting antibodies in your body. Myeloma cells prevent the production of antibodies, leaving your body's immune system weakened and susceptible to infection.

If one observes unexplained bruising or bleeding, weight loss, swollen lymph nodes, unexplained fevers, joint pain, constant nausea, abdominal pain, headaches, itchy skin,  persistent infections, continual tiredness, night sweats, and persistent fever, they must get a consultation from a cancer specialty hospital in Chandigarh.

The treatment your doctors recommend will depend on the type of blood cancer the patient has, their health, and their wishes. Blood cancer is usually cured by chemotherapy, stem cell transplantation or radiation therapy. Chemotherapy uses anti-cancer drugs to curb the growth of cancer cells in the patient, while radiation is used to destroy cancer cells or provide relief to the patient. Stem cell transplantation includes infusing healthy cells into the patient, which may be retrieved by the bone marrow, circulating blood and umbilical cord blood. Some people may also be given gentler treatments that allow them to have the best possible quality of life, even if it doesn’t cure their blood cancer. One can easily seek this cancer treatment in Mohalior consult the best oncologist in Chandigarh.

Before studying the symptoms, it’s important to remember that frequent infections and swollen glands can be caused by a variety of health problems that might not be related to cancer at all. Nevertheless, regular screenings and Pet Scans are recommended occasionally.