Blood Cancer

Blood is made up of different cell types including red blood cells for carrying oxygen, platelets to help blood clot and white blood cells that fight infections. They all originally come from one common cell, which have the potential to develop into any type of blood cell as they divide and mature. Problems in this process, known as ‘differentiation’, are at the route of all blood cancers. Different types of blood cancer depend on when and how these problems occur.

These problems often lead to your body producing large numbers of immature blood cells that can’t perform their job properly. They can also ‘clog up’ your bone marrow, which prevents other types of blood cells from doing their job too.

Blood cancers are categorised into three groups.

Leukaemia

Lymphoma

Myeloma

LEUKEMIA

Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow.

Leukemia begins in a cell in the bone marrow. The cell undergoes immature change and becomes a type of leukemia cell. Once the marrow cell undergoes a leukemic change, the leukemia cells may grow and survive better than normal cells. Over time, the leukemia cells restrain the development of normal cells. The rate at which leukemia progresses and how the cells replace the normal blood and marrow cells are different with each type of leukemia.

LYMPHOMA

Lymphoma is the name for a group of blood cancers that develop in the lymphatic system. The two main types are Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).

Hodgkin lymphoma has characteristics that distinguish it from other diseases classified as lymphoma. There are large, cancerous cells found in Hodgkin lymphoma tissues. Hodgkin lymphoma is one of the most curable forms of cancer.

NHL represents a diverse group of diseases distinguished by the characteristics of the cancer cells associated with each disease type. Most people with NHL have a B-cell type of NHL. The others have a T-cell type or an NK-cell type of lymphoma..

Sign and symptoms of Blood cancer

Blood cancers can cause many different symptoms. Some are common across all blood cancers, others are more characteristic of particular types of blood cancer. For example, lymphomas can be characterised by swollen lymph nodes and one of the most common symptoms of myeloma is bone pain, especially in the back.

The vagueness and non-specific nature of the symptoms means that blood cancers can be hard to diagnose.

The common symptoms of blood cancers can include:

• Unexplained weight loss
• Fatigue
• Feeling weak or breathless
• Easily bruise or bleed
• Enlarged lymph nodes
• Swollen stomach or abdominal discomfort
• Frequent and repeated infections
• Fever/night sweats
• Pain in bones/joints
• Itchy skin
• Bone pain (ribs/back)

Diagnosis of blood cancer

The tests most commonly used to diagnose and monitor blood cancers include:

• Blood tests
• Bone marrow tests
• Imaging tests
• Lymph node biopsy
• Lumbar puncture
• Urine tests

Your doctor may order additional tests if you have multiple medical conditions such as heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes or other illnesses (called comorbidities) that may affect your body’s ability to fight infection.

Treatment of Blood cancer

Chemotherapy and other drug therapies

Radiation therapy

Immunotherapy

Vaccine therapy

Stem cell transplantation

Blood transfusion

Palliative care

You should know that treatment for pain is part of cancer treatment. It is important to resist the big myth that because cancer is a serious disease, pain is to be expected. Most people can get complete relief for their pain — or at least significant relief that allows them to enjoy the activities of daily life.

What is advanced or metastatic blood cancer

Advanced blood cancer includes stage 3 and stage 4 and terminal cancer. Stage 3 includes when cancer spreads to other tissues in and around the ovary and / or lymph nodes. Stage 4 includes metastasis.

Metastasis happens when cancer cells break away from a primary tumor and enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system (the system that produces stores and carries the cells that fight infections). When cancer cells spread and form a new tumour in a different organ, the new tumor is a metastatic tumor, the cells of which come from the original tumor.

Some people with metastatic cancer do not have symptoms. Their metastases may be found by tests, which may be performed for other reasons such as PET, MRI or CT scan. When symptoms do occur, the type and frequency depend on the size and location of the metastasis. For example, cancer that spreads to the bones is likely to cause pain and can lead to bone fractures. Shortness of breath may be a sign of lung involvement.

Liver metastasis

If they do have symptoms, they may be vague and can include:

• Loss of appetite or feeling full early
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Itching
• Pain in the abdomen
• Swelling in the legs
• Weight loss
• Yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes, called jaundice

Lungs metastasis

Because the lungs get blood flow from the rest of the body, cancer can travel there from other organs. Cancer that has spread to the lungs often affects breathing.

Symptoms include:

• A cough that doesn’t go away
• Chest pain
• Blood in the mucus
• Trouble breathing
• Weight loss

Bone metastasis

When cancer travels to the bones, it can weaken them and cause them to release stored calcium. Symptoms include:

• Bone pain
• Constipation, nausea, and loss of appetite from high calcium levels in the blood
• Broken bones
• Numbness or weakness in the legs and possibly the arms
• Pain in the back or neck

Are you suffering from pain?

Any cancer has only 4 treatments. Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and pain relief treatment / pain management.

What is the stage of cancer? Stage decides the treatment. All advanced cancers cannot be treated by chemotherapy and / or radiation therapy. Chemotherapy / radiation therapy may not benefit in stage 4 cancer. Recent research tells that unnecessary chemotherapy may reduce quality & life span too. Pain is the most common problem in stage 3 or 4. Please remember Pain definitely can be controlled or treated at any stage of cancer. Even if you are taking ayurvedic treatment for cancer or homeopathic treatment, it will not help in pain relief – You must take pain management treatment. Pain relief is important for continuing any treatment. Pain relief needs dedicated pain management treatment usually offered by Pain specialist doctors. In addition to best cancer specialist, ACCN is proud to have best pain specialist doctor in Delhi and in India. Pain management and cancer treatment goes side by side. Demand a pain free cancer treatment.

One must always remember that in stage 3 / stage 4 / terminal cancer – palliative care and pain relief treatment is usually the priority treatment so that pain relief continues at home too.  Pain free journey of cancer ie pain free cancer treatment helps in prolongation of life.

Advanced-Cancer Care Network, Delhi, India, with its branches (contact) at Delhi and Rohtak (Haryana) is a unique conglomeration of super-specialist doctors, who believe in well-being of human life.  ACCN is the most advanced centre for stage 3 cancer, stage 4 cancer, advanced stage cancer, terminal cancer, Cancer pain management and palliative care. It offers the unique and state-of-the-art treatment for pain relief and cancer treatment in India.

Click on Pain relief in blood cancer  to know the best pain management methods at home for blood cancer.

blood cancer in bone is a very frequent problem in breast cancer. Know more about it.

#wincancerpain

Palliative care

Palliative care is designed to give symptomatic relief to the patient, control the side-effects of illness or treatment and improve quality of life of cancer patients. Palliative care treatment is provided by a medical specialist, other than oncosurgeon or oncologist. This medical specialist is known as “Pain & Palliative Care Specialist”. India has very limited number of such specialists and if you are also not able to find one for yourself, please contact ACCN (Advanced – Cancer Care Network), we are proud to have India”s best and most qualified Pain Specialists and Palliative Care Specialists.

Click on Understanding palliative care to know the palliative care treatment for stage 3 cancer or stage 4 cancer or advanced stage cervical cancer.

Role of Palliative Care Treatment

It is usually said that role of palliative care starts, when cancer becomes incurable or advanced stage or terminal or at end-of-life. It is one of the biggest myths in cancer treatment protocols. Palliative care specialist must be consulted and involved in the cancer treatment right from the first day when cancer is diagnosed and treatment is started. Initially when cancer is at stage 1 or 2, complete focus is on cancer cure and palliative care has minimal but very important role. As the cancer (if) progresses, gradually role of palliative care also enlarges. In stage 3 or stage 4. role of palliative care becomes much more important than other regular cancer treatments.

Click on How we can help to know about our various services for advanced cancer patients.

Click on Symptom control to understand that how we can provide suffering free life to advanced cancer patient.

Benefits of Palliative Care

• Makes patient feel better and stay active during treatment
• Manages side-effects of cancer treatment
• Facilitates as high a quality of life as possible
• Helps cancer treatments do a better job
• Can be curative as well as life-supporting treatment
• Cancer diet planning
• Improves survival outcomes
• Increases immunity levels
• Improves communication between patient and family members
• Maintains hope and stick to principals of ethics