What Types of Blood Cancer Treatments Are Available?
Although there are several types of blood cancer and many symptoms that are caused by each type, many blood cancer treatments are similar. The first thing to know in determining which treatment is best is knowing which type of blood cancer you have because each treatment is based on the type of cancer and how severe your particular case is.
The most common treatment for blood cancer includes chemotherapy and radiation. Chemotherapy involves the use of drugs known to kill or destroy cancer cells. These drugs are generally administered through IV or intravenously or through intramuscular injections. This type of treatment is often referred to as systemic treatment because when the drug gains entry to the blood it travels through the individual’s body destroying any cancerous cells it may encounter.
In cases of acute lymphocytic leukemia also know as ALL chemotherapy is also offered as an injection given in the spine directly into the fluid that travels between the brain and spinal cord. This particular treatment is known as intrathecal chemotherapy. Chemotherapy does come with some side effects such as loss of hair, lower immune system levels and nausea. The total treatment time for this method can range anywhere between two and five years overall.
Exposure to radiation is also an effective method of destroying cancer cells. This method usually comes in the form of high powered x-ray machines and works by sending pulses or waves of radiation throughout the body in an attempt to eradicate the cancer cells. Radiation treatments are generally not painful and don’t last very long. It is often used in combination with other blood cancer treatments.
After one of these treatments is used bone marrow transplants or another type of treatment known as immunotherapy which makes the body able to attack the blood cancer cells and more successfully destroy cancer cells may be used to raise the body’s natural ability to fight off cells infected with cancer. Bone marrow transplants are considered to be risky and locating suitable donors can often be difficult, this is why they are generally only used in life threatening situations and only at hospitals that specialize in cancer treatments.
In addition to these blood cancer treatments you may need to undergo blood transfusions or some form of drug therapy in order to treat serious cases of anemia or excessive iron levels. Multivitamins may also be helpful in treating anemia and restoring iron to normal levels. In some cases antibiotics are also used during these types of cancer treatments to prevent infections caused by the body’s inability to naturally fight back due to a lower immune system level that may be caused by the treatments or the cancer itself.
There are now hundreds of thousands of individuals in this country alone that are diagnosed with various blood cancers each year. It is reported as being one of the leading causes of death of people under 20 years of age. For this reason there are more cancer treatment centers today than ever before.
