According to NFCR “every three minutes, one person in the US is diagnosed with blood cancer”. About 1.24 million cases of blood cancer of her yearly throughout the world. The three main types of blood and bone marrow cancer are leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. Although there are dozens of more these are the main and most commonly diagnosed blood related cancers.
How does Leukemia occur, to start it originates in the blood and bone marrow as the other related diseases. Cells in the bone marrow change and mutate which creates abnormal function. Although there is no concrete understanding of what primarily causes the disease but scientist have determined that a combination of genetics and nurture can lead to this mutation in cells that form the bone marrow. Leukemia affects the blood forming cells in the lymphatic system and bone marrow. This disrupts the production of healthy white blood cells which are responsible to fight infection and multiply. As blood cells grow and divide uncontrollably to where it can become fatal for the body. As most cancers Leukemia can weaken the immune system creating high levels of fatigue. The cancer affects various organs some including the liver, central nervous system and lymph nodes. AML or Acute myeloid Leukemia is considered the most fatal type of leukemia. Although there is no current cure for leukemia as many other cancers there can be further treatments methods taken. The most common treatment in regards to leukimia include chemotherapy, this treatment uses chemicals to kill the unwanted cancer cells. Bone marrow transplants is another treatment procedure in which a donors healthy stem cells are infused into the blood.
The word lymphoma is known as the broad term or cancer that begins in cells of the lymph system. This means that the cancer starts in the infection fighting cells of the immune system, called lymphocytes. As many other cancers there is no known reason of the cause of lymphoma. When one is diagnosed with lymphoma, the patient's lymphocytes become mutated cancerous cells which grow uncontrollably. The lymph in the lymphatic system allow white blood cells or lymphocytes to circulate but when these white blood cells multiply abnormally this cases lymph nodes to enlarge and masses to form. As the word implies this cancer affects the organs of the lymphatic system including the lymph nodes. SImilarly to leukemia lymphoma is treated with chemotherapy and as the treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma is effective most people with the disease are cured to an extent. As the treatment is effective due to the use of chemicals it can also kill the cells that are not cancerous which is why a patient with lymphoma has fatigue, and high fevers aswells are swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and underarms.
Muelos greek for marrow indicates that myeloma is a cancer that forms in plasma cells which is a type of white blood cell with multiplies in patches in the bone marrow there it grows. Although there is no clear cause of the cancer one abnormal plasma cell in the bone marrow can duplicate and spread instantly and quickly. The myeloma cells crowd or push out healthy blood cells, leading to constant fatigue and the inability to fight infections. The myeloma cells produce abnormal antibodies that the body can't use which replace the healthy plasma cells. Some treatment options for myeloma is target therapy which is treatment focused in the specific areas present within the cancer cells. Others treatment options include immunotherapy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and bone marrow transplant.