Blood Cancer: Causes, Stages, Diagnosis & Treatment
Cancer affects many people of varying age groups worldwide. Previously the treatment procedure was not effective enough for most cancer types, but slowly the development in the healthcare industry is bringing in several notable changes in the treatment and diagnosis of various cancer types.
Cancer leads to millions of deaths every year in India and many other countries in the world. One of the major types of cancer that has a very high rate of fatality is blood cancer. When someone is suffering from blood cancer, their complete functioning and production process of blood gets affected by cancer. This type of cancer often originates in the bone marrow and disturbs the whole blood flow process as it is a vital source of blood production.
In the case of blood cancer, the growth of an abnormal blood cell disrupts the development and production of the three main types of blood cells: RBC, WBC, and platelets. The cancerous blood cells hamper the normal functioning of blood, and hence it fails to prevent blood loss or fight against infections and leads to the failure of its primary functions.
Symptoms
The main symptoms of Blood cancer are:
Weakness and fatigue
Excessive or easy bruising
Shortness of breath
Weight loss
Anorexia
Pains in different areas of the body
Fever
Bleeding gums
These are just a handful of the symptoms. But there are several other ones. Even if you have more than one symptom, you might not be affected by blood cancer. If you show the symptoms for an extended period of time and face any difficulty, you must consult a doctor and go for a thorough checkup.
Causes
The specific reason behind cancer is still not found, but here are some probable causes of blood cancer.
Family History
Weak Immune system
Aging
Effects of an infection
These causes all have different probabilities of affecting any person; however, if you have a family history of cancer, are aging, or are ailing from an infection. It is essential to be wary of your condition and keep your symptoms in check to diagnose your cancer in the first stage itself.
Stages
The different stages of any kind of cancer are broken down into several parts on the basis of metastasis. The four main stages of blood cancer are:
Stage 1: The first stage of blood cancer often incorporates the enlargement of the lymph nodes. It happens mainly because of the sudden rise in the number of lymphocytes.
Stage 2: The second stage of blood cancer leads to the enlargement of either the spleen, liver or lymph nodes. Not all three of them are necessarily affected at the same time interval, but cancer spreads in at least one of these organs in this stage as the growth of lymphocytes is at a high peak in this stage.
Stage 3: The development of Anaemia is the primary concern at the third stage, and all the previously mentioned organs still remain enlarged.
Stage 4: The fourth stage is often referred to as the last stage as the risks are optimum at this point, and the blood platelets rate starts to decrease rapidly. The state of Anaemia turns out to be more acute, and several other organs along with lungs start getting affected.
Diagnosis
There are several blood test options for the proper detection of blood cancer. Along with the tests, biopsy, bone marrow exam or imaging such as PET scan, CR scan, and chest X-ray plays a crucial role too.
Depending on the results of these tests, the doctor will be able to diagnose the blood cancer type successfully, which will further allow him to frame the appropriate treatment procedure.
Treatment
The treatment process depends on several factors such as age, fitness level, and the presence of other diseases in the patients' body. Besides that, the type of cancer and the diagnosis stage also play a vital role in deciding the right treatment option.
The main aim of treating blood cancer is to eradicate the disease to the maximum point. The standard treatment procedures include a certain range of processes such as Chemotherapy, Radiation Therapy, Targeted therapies, Stem cell transplantation, Cancer Surgery, and Immunotherapy.
Besides all these, bringing in specific lifestyle changes and dietary improvements is also crucial to ensure a faster and smooth pathway for recovery. Using tobacco alcohol or not being physically active enough can often deteriorate the patient's condition even after the application of the right treatments.
Ending Note
There is no such way to prevent someone from getting affected by cancer. The only precaution which is possible to take is to opt for occasional blood tests and complete checkups, which will allow you to find out about your health conditions on time.