Blood Cancer
Some common blood cancer symptoms include:
- Coughing or chest pain
- Fever or chills(37.5°C or above) that is unexplained
- Frequent infections
- Itchy skin or rashthat’s unexplained
- Loss of appetite or nausea
- Night sweats
- Persistent weakness and fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Swollen, painless lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, or groin
- Weight loss that’s unexplained
- Bruising or bleeding that’s unexplained
- Lumps or swellings
- Shortness of breath (breathlessness)
- Drenching night sweats
- infectionsthat are persistent, recurrent or severe
- Pain in your bones, joints or abdomen (stomach area)
- Lymph node (gland) enlargement
- Lumps or abdominal distension due to enlarged abdominal organs
- Delirium and confusion
- Abnormal bleeding in gums nose and cuts, which will lead to platelet reduction
- Bone/joint pain
- Abdominal discomfort
- Headaches
- Swollen lymph nodes in the neck, underarms or groin
Test and procedures to diagnose blood cancers may include:
- Blood tests
- Bone marrow exam
- Diagnostic imaging tests — CT scan, PET scan, and x-ray
- Physical exam
- Surgical lymph node removal (for examination)
Common blood cancer treatments include:
- Chemotherapy
- Targeted therapies
- Immunotherapy
- Radiotherapy
- Stem cell transplants
Although we don’t normally know exactly why someone will develop blood cancer, there are things that we know can affect your risk:
- Age
- Weight
- Sex
- Smoke
- Ethnicity
- Family history
- Radiationor chemical exposure
- Weak immune system
- Certain infections