Blood Cancer Types, Causes, Symptoms & Treatments

Blood Cancer, is also sometimes referred to as as Hematologic Cancer or Bone Marrow Cancer because blood is produced in bone marrow.

There are several types of Blood Cancer, including Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Hodgkin Lymphoma, Leukemia, Multiple Myeloma, Myelofibrosis, Polycythemia Vera, Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS), Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), Aplastic Anemia and Amyloidosis – the later on this list being more rare.

What Causes Blood Cancer?

DNA mutations of blood cells cause blood cancers, as the mutated cells start to rapidly grow and imped normal blood cells.

Blood Cancer causes/risk factors can include:

  • Smoking
  • Aging
  • Male
  • History of other hematologic (blood) cancers
  • Exposure to radiation or certain chemicals
  • Past cancer treatments
  • Ethnicity
  • Weak Immune system
  • Obesity

What Are The Symptoms Of Blood Cancer?

Signs and symptoms of blood cancer can include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Unexplained weight loss
  • Bone and joint pain
  • Ongoing weakness
  • Abdominal discomfort or nausea
  • Swollen lymph nodes in groin, underarms or neck
  • Frequent infections
  • Fevers, chills or night sweats
  • Loss of appetite
  • Breathing problems
  • Skin rashes

How is Blood Cancer Treated?

Treatments for blood cancer depends on multiple factors, including the type of blood cancer, it’s progression in the body, where it is in the body and the patients age.

The most common treatments include:

  • Chemotherapy
  • Radiation Therapy
  • Stem Cell Transplantation

Currently, survival rates for blood cancer are improving, ranging from 65% to 80%+ depending upon the type of blood cancer that is being treated. The more rare type of blood cancer see slightly lower survival rates on average, but as noted above, there are multiple factors that go into these estimates.

If you suspect you or a loved one may be dealing with blood cancer, please seek immediate medical attention, the sooner it can be diagnosed and treated, the better the chances of successful treatment are.