Leukemia Lymphoma Cancer

Being told I had leukemia was a shock and I don't mind admitting I burst into tears in the Consultants Office.

For me and my family, the most important thing was to get the treatment needed to fight this cancer of the blood. I hadn't been well for about eighteen months before the diagnosis, I felt very tired and unfit.

During a lovely holiday in Bermuda, I started to feel as though I had got the flu coming on and I had to go to see my doctor when I arrived home in England because by this time I couldn't breath very well. I had actually got legionnaires disease - which to put it simply meant that I had pneumonia, the TB I had as a child showed up on my X rays, and I was very ill for 6 weeks. I was taking 8 different antibiotics daily to fight this off.

Interestingly, my husband was fine - no symptoms at all - I realise now that my white blood cells were already being attached by the cancer and this in turn brought my immune system down.

It was over a year after getting legionnaires that I knew something was wrong because I found I needed to go to bed in the afternoon due to fatigue - I had only to knock myself lightly and I would have a big black bruise.

After visiting my doctor again, who referred me to the local hospital, where tests were done which included blood tests and a sample of my bone marrow was extracted from my hip bone - not a ery pleasant experience I have to say,the diagnosis came in that I had hairy cell leukemia, it's called that because the tumors look like they are covered in tiny hairs under the microscope.

The chemotherapy was simple - basically the chemicals needed to kill off the cancer cells are fed into you intravenously - I firstly had a liquid injected prior to the chemo, this was to stop me from being sick - thank goodness it worked. I was also lucky that my hair did not come out in clumps - I had severe dandruff but that was all.

I had to have 5 two hour chemo sessions Monday to Friday and I felt very weak by the last session, I was given some needles to inject myself with, these contained a solution described by the doctor as Fertiliser for White Cells. I did the injections and found I was getting rather a lot of discomfort in the hip and thigh bones - this was caused by the injections as the solution was stimulating my bone marrow and aiding the clean new white cells to grow (sorry I cannot explain it in more medical terminology) and that was what caused the discomfort. It was a small price to pay to get my blood clean again.

I have been very lucky, my sort of leukemia is treatable and as long as infections are avoided after and during the chemo, a full recovery after 6 months is perfectly achievable.

I have been in remission now for three years, visit my consultant every six months and he says my blood is very healthy, so I thank god for that and of course the medical profession who are just fantastic.

Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system. The lymph nodes are found in various places around the body. There are multiple areas of the lymphatic system that can become cancerous. The area of the lymphatic system that is primarily affected will determine to a great extent, both the treatment and survival rate are determined by where in the body the cancerous cells are located and if they will be able to spread to other areas of the body.

The lymphatic system is made up of lymph nodes, lymphocyte cells, bone marrow of the thymus and long bones, the spleen, tonsils and adenoids as well as the lymph.

Other cancers can also start within the lymph nodes such as breast cancer. However breast cancer symptoms are not the same as lymphoma blood cancers.

The most common of blood cancer types is lymphoma. Many people confused lymphoma with leukemia, another type of blood cancer. Although they are both blood cancer diseases, they are not the same. About 56% of all patients affected with blood cancer have lymphoma

Hodgkin's lymphoma is named after Thomas Hodgkin. Mr. Hodgkin discovered this disease in 1832. There are two types of lymphoma named after Thomas Hodgkin. Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Lymphoma starts when the white blood cells, called lymphocytes, progressively multiply as a result of malignant changes within the lymph nodes and other areas in the body. They begin to grow in large numbers, pushing out healthy cells. This is what leads to the formation of tumors in the lymph nodes. Other areas affected can be the spleen and thymus and so forth.

Lymphoma can originate in the blood and bone marrow as well as the lymph nodes or lymphatic tissues, which are present in the stomach or intestines. From the bone marrow it can spread to many other parts of the body. While it is true that leukemia can spread from the bone marrow to the blood and lymph nodes, lymphoma is very different from leukemia. Lymphoma is the sixth most common cancer in men and the fifth most prevalent caner among women in the US.

There are two major types of Leukemia: myelogenous and lymphocytic. There are acute and chronic forms of each of these types. Although a great deal of information can be found both on-line and offline about lymphoma, it is always best to seek out medical care if you have any suspicious symptoms. Sadly, there are many different types of cancers. There are several types that affect the blood. Blood cancers that in the bone marrow are not to be confused with bone cancer.

It is always best for anyone that may suspect they have some type of health issues, regardless of the type, to discuss it with their doctor.

MDS or myelodysplastic syndromes are a grouping of cancer afflictions that target the white & red blood cells as well as the bone marrow. MDS can develop into leukemia if not diagnosed or controlled early enough. There are types of MDS that are easy to manage and mild, while others can be life-threatening.

Experts in the field are trying their best in finding a cure for MDS; however there are a variety of treatments patients can choose from. There are also a lot of things people can do to help raise awareness and funds for MDS and other fatal types of cancer.

Treatment Options for MDS Patients

A host of treatment options are now available for patients suffering from MDS. These factors should be taken into consideration in deciding what treatment option would be best for a patient: overall illness risk level, type of MDS, age and status of health. The most common treatments are:

* Bone marrow or cord blood transplants

* Chemotherapy

* Drug therapies

* Supportive care

Testing is always being done for new MDS treatments, which is the reason why most patients agree to be a part of the clinical trials as part of their MDS treatment. A patient can have a standard treatment such as chemotherapy combined with alternative treatment options.

Support Care for MDS Patients

Supportive care is an option that is gaining popularity for those who seek MDS treatment. The purpose of this type of treatment is to ultimately get a firm hold of the disease and any issues related to it. There are cases when supportive care is the only treatment a patient requires, combined with regular checkups with physicians to decrease any risks of the disease developing into something more serious in the future.

Supportive care can also be combined with other forms of treatment; this combination works best for those with a more severe type of MDS, or those with an advanced age. Other patients look at the benefits of getting the supportive care from time to time, augmenting the benefits of the other forms of treatment.

Blood Transfusion

A lot of MDS patients require blood transfusion to lessen their symptoms' adverse effects, and to keep the disease in line. Platelet transfusions decrease the risk of drastic bleeding problems, while red blood cell transfusions assist in reducing the symptoms that include shortness of breath and exhaustion.

When a patient undergoes blood transfusions, additional treatments should also be given to manage the iron build up in the patient's body. Excessive amounts of iron in the body may cause damage to some organs, which is why a combination of treatments would be the best thing to do. It would not do to treat an existing condition (the MDS) only to have a new problem develop (organ damage) as a result of the treatment

Treatment - Growth Factors

The medications that enable the body to develop healthier blood cells are called growth factors. MDS patients are often given growth factors to lessen their need for red blood cell transfusions. There are some cases, however, when the patient's bone marrow does not respond effectively.

Recent studies show that a mild form of chemotherapy with the use of decitabine, administered over a longer period of time, can have significantly advantageous results for patients diagnosed with pre-leukemia. More widely known as Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS), pre-leukemia was recognized as a certified form of cancer just recently.

The American Cancer Society's journal published this study in their latest issue, taking a more detailed look at pre-leukemia and its effects on the human body.

New Research Revelations

Researchers estimate than 45% of the patients with pre-leukemia symptoms and those who go through a relapse respond to a second treatment course. However, they did not get the duration and quality in their second round of treatment, compared to the first few rounds of chemotherapy. With the new findings, researchers are leaning towards the belief that initial treatments given over a longer duration may have more benefits compared to numerous chemotherapy rounds.

It was discovered in the study that an average of three rounds of decitabine treatment had 10 out of the 22 patients exhibiting any type of response. Seven of the patients were observed to have haematological improvements and experienced a 50% decrease in their need for tranfusions, while three of the patients partly or completely had an effect in every one of their three cell lines. Overall, the average survival rate was declared to be 28 months, with those patients treated again with decitabine having a 13-month rate of survival before suffering from any sort of relapse.

In the group where 12 of the patients did not have any response to decitabine, the treatment had one of these two results: no effect whatsoever or the abnormal cells' suppression, without the normal cells repopulating the bone marrow. Out of the 12 patients mentioned, four developed acute leukemia from the pre-leukemia.

The authors conclude that the most advantageous treatment type for pre-leukemia patients is the initial chemotherapy session given in longer durations, followed by maintenance of shorter treatment rounds.

Pre-leukemia

Pre-leukemia is an affliction that targets the bone marrow, resulting in an increased number of ineffective red and white blood cells. Usually, the cells blast and produce from the stem cells while multiplying in the blood stream, eventually killing the normal blood cells. This results in an irregular production of blood cells, causing fewer blood cells to form (which are needed to circulate and carry oxygen to different body parts).

Although therapy is readily available, pre-leukemia affects adults in their 50s, and researchers still have to find the ultimate cure. Patients suffering from pre-leukemia generally develop leukemia, or cancer of the blood cells. This study shows that this new DNA hypomethylating agent, decitabine, will have the most benefits for patients.

Previously known as pre-leukemia, myelodyslastia syndrome is a haematological condition that is made up of the inefficient red blood cell production and a host of other health complications. A lot of people are unfamiliar with myelodysplastia syndrome's details, although most know about leukemia, which is commonly the end-result of MDS.

MDS is an affliction of the bone marrow stem cell, which may result in ineffective and irregular blood production. This irregularity can result to irreversible problems in the blood-forming cells. The illness takes a course towards being chronic in most cases, and can slowly worsen because of steady bone failure. Research shows that an estimated 1/3 of the patients who have MDS can develop acute myelogenous leukemia within a couple of years of living with the condition.

Myelodysplastia Syndrome Diagnosis

According to researchers, the time of diagnosis for the myelodysplastia syndrome is on the average, between 60 and 75 years old. This disorder is more prevalent in males than in females, and is generally rare in children. Although a lot of the symptoms can lead to the detection of this condition, these are linked to other blood disorders; the symptoms are therefore not commonly linked to MDS until the later stages.

Some of myelodyspastia syndrome's symptoms include:

* Neutropenia - An increased vulnerability to infection

* Anemia - Chronic shortness of breath, chest pain and fatigue

* Thrombocytopenia - Increased vulnerability to bleeding

It is estimated that 50 percent of MDS-related deaths occur as a result of infection or extensive bleeding. Researchers everywhere are still hard at work in trying to find a cure for myelodysplastia syndrome, and for now patients can only rely on the treatments. It should be noted, though, that the type of leukemia that develops from MDS is in particular extremely resistant to different kinds of treatment.

Myelodysplastia Syndrome Detection

Due to its common and general symptoms, MDS can often be wrongly diagnosed, which is the reason why doctors have to examine the blood film and do a full blood count. These steps are necessary to eliminate other possible causes of the symptoms, such as B12, HIV or hepatitis. Doctors also do chromosomal studies that require fresh specimens, inducing the live cells tested to magnify the chromosomal staining.

Myelodysplastia Syndrome Origins

One of the known causes of MDS has to do with environmental factors, specifically the exposure radiation and to the toxic chemical benzene. Secondary MDS can also arise in patients who experience late toxicity, as a result of prolonged exposure to cancer treatments. It is now proven that MDS is a result of the bone marrow stem cell mutations; however the abnormalities responsible for these mutations are yet to be fully understood.

A lot of people are somewhat familiar with different types of cancer like leukemia or MDS; however very few truly know what the causes for these illnesses are, or what treatment options are available. It is therefore very beneficial to have a clear-cut view of what myleodysplastic syndromes really are, before asking further questions regarding the subject.

MDS are a combined constitution of different hematological conditions that are integrated when there is an absence of adequate amounts of red and white blood cells in the body. MDS results from the bone marrow stem cell, causing a disorderly production of blood cells in the bloodstream. For many years this fatal form of cancer has commonly been called as pre leukemia because it almost always leads to the development of leukemia, which is the cancer of the blood.

What Causes MDS?

A patient suffering from MDS experiences abnormal production and reproduction of blood cells. Simply put, this means that the blood reveals itself by producing adverse defects in its blood-forming cells. If this problem with the blood cells persists over time, more often it worsens, resulting in the gradual deterioration of the bone marrow.

Genetic factors play a huge role in the the development of MDS, specifically in children who suffer from the disease. However, effects from the environment can also cause healthy cells to develop abnormalities and to produce cancer-causing cells in the long run. One of the most common causes of cancer development in the body's cells is the exposure to the chemical Benzene, which is a toxic chemical used in manufacturing different products such as gasoline and plastics. Most of the time, the people who develop MDS as a result from exposure to Benzene are not even aware that they have already been negatively affected by the chemical until it's already too late.

Caution Signs

Studies show that of all MDS patients, about one-third suffer from deteriorating health after their preliminary diagnosis; these patients are also very likely to develop acute myelogenous leukemia or AML.

Some of the most common MDS symptoms include:

• Pale skin
• Bleeding and bruising
• Extreme fatigue
• Recurring infections