Blood cancers are classified as cancer because their abnormal (malignant) and uncontrolled cell growth interferes with the production and crowds out healthy blood cells.
These continuously multiplying and accumulating diseased malignant cells spawn in bone marrow or lymphatic tissue right along side health promoting blood cells.
Blood cancer overgrowth can result in death due to severe anemia, inability to fight infections or excessive bleeding. These causes of death are an outcome of cancer in blood, broadly categorized as:
Leukemia causes the most childhood provoked deaths of under age 20 individuals.
The various treatment avenues for blood cancers include:
- gene therapy
- chemotherapy
- immunotherapy
- radiation therapy
- stem cell transplantation
- bone marrow transplants
Some also seek complementary and alternative therapies.
Blood tests are taken to provide your health care professional with vital clues as to “what’s up” inside your body. The most common of these blood test being complete blood count.
A blood count test metes out the number of red cells, white cells and platelets in your blood. Blood cancer affects these cell counts, causing them to be higher or lower than usual.
Additionally, numerous other chemicals in your blood can provide clues as to the functioning of your:
If blood cancer is suspected, testing your blood for biomarkers may be performed. The presence of certain substances (biomarkers) are tested for in your blood, urine or tissue. The presence of certain biomarkers may indicate cancer activity.
Bear in mind that some behaviors or conditions can affect your blood cell count, for instance:
- foods
- stress
- illness
- smoking
- medications
- extreme exercise
- beverages ~ alcohol
- street drugs ~ marijuana, inhalants
About 5% of healthy people will test outside of the reference range for their given blood cell count test.
Before you jump to any blood cancer conclusions, there are scads of diseases, disorders or conditions that may be causing your above or below the range of blood cell counts. High red blood cell counts creators:
- smoking
- alcoholism
- liver disease
- kidney disease
- chronic lung disease
- certain heart diseases
- carbon monoxide exposure
- conditions affecting body fluid levels
Low red blood cell count instigators:
- bleeding
- G6PD deficiency
- certain medications
- folic acid deficiency
- iron deficient anemia
- vitamin B12 deficiency
- hemolytic uremic syndrome
- inflammatory bowel disease
- disease caused malnutrition
Prime movers for higher than normal white blood cell counts:
- burns
- lupus
- infection
- malnutrition
- inflammation
- certain drugs
- kidney failure
- emotional stress
- thyroid problems
- rheumatoid arthritis
- severe physical stress ~ fever, injury, surgery
Inducements for low white blood cell counts:
- AIDS
- lupus
- malaria
- infection
- medicines
- alcoholism
- enlarged spleen
- Fanconi anemia
- benzene poisoning
- idiopathic myelofibrosis
- myelodysplastic syndrome
Genesis for higher than standard platelet count:
- bleeding
- iron deficiency
- bone marrow function issues
Grounds for low platelet count:
- pregnancy
- thrombotic
- thrombocytopenic purpura
- hemolytic uremic syndrome
- some autoimmune diseases
- idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura
Should your blood cell count and biomarkers tests conclude with a diagnosis of some form of blood cancer, give your body a fighting advantage with healthy diet provisions along with a positive attitude.
