There are many different types of blood cancer and many different diagnoses for each class, there are various options in terms of treating blood cancer. The treatment plan your doctor will choose will depend on the speed at which the cancer is growing, your age, if cancer has metastasized, etc.
As mentioned earlier, an entire menu of treatment options for treating blood cancer exists, but the more common treatment plans are:
- Stem cell transplantation
- Chemotherapy
- Radiation therapy
- Targeted therapies
- Surgery
- Immunotherapy
Stem Cell Transplantation
This treatment option implants fresh and young stem cells in your body. These cells will immediately produce the healthy blood cells you need to feel better, stay healthy, and survive. Doctors harvest these cells from many organs, including bone marrow, blood cells, and umbilical cord blood.
Chemotherapy
If your doctor chooses this remedy for blood cancer, you will be given powerful medicines that are designed to send cancer into remission by impeding the growth of new cancer cells and by killing as many existing cancer cells as possible. Because blood cancer is complicated, your doctor will probably prescribe a cocktail of powerful medicines that are effective at fighting cancer. If chemotherapy is successful, your doctor may include stem cell transplantation as part of your treatment plan. You will be given chemotherapy either by IV or by taking oral medicines.
Radiation Therapy
Your doctor can give you this therapy for blood cancer either through medicines or stem cell transplants. This is effective in making you feel better, have more energy, and feel more comfortable because it is good at killing off many cancer cells at once. You may be given radiation therapy before getting a stem cell transplant to make your body and immune system stronger. This increases your likelihood of sending cancer into remission and surviving.
Targeted Therapies
You will be taking powerful drugs that will effectively destroy cancer cells without disturbing the integrity or function of the surrounding healthy cells. Doctors routinely prescribe this therapy for leukemia patients because of their effectiveness and high survival rates.
Cancer Surgery
If your doctor sends you to operation, your affected lymph nodes will be removed. This will increase your chances of survival, make you healthier, and make you feel better. Doctors commonly prescribe this treatment plan for people with lymphoma.
Immunotherapy
Your doctor will prescribe powerful medicines that will train your immune system to fight and kill cancer cells effectively.
Side Effects
Many forms of blood cancer are aggressive and proliferate. People with these types of blood cancer need potent medicines that are good at fighting and killing existing cancer cells and preventing new ones from forming. These medicines’ power means that they can sometimes produce reactions that will negatively affect your body. These are known as side effects, and they include:
- Short-term side effects
- Long-term side effects
Remission of Blood Cancer
You are in remission when all of your cancer cells have died off. You are considered to be ‘cancer-free’ by your doctor, but not ‘cured!’ You’ll have follow-up appointments after your cancer has officially and successfully gone into remission. This includes an entire battery of tests that resemble those you underwent to receive your initial and official diagnosis. These tests intend to measure the extent of remission in your body.
Follow up With Doctor
You’ll be seeing a doctor every two months for the first year that you are effectively declared in remission. You will have more spacing between your appointments for the next few years after that. If you are in remission for at least five years, you will only need to see your doctor annually.
You may be feeling signs and symptoms which may make you feel depressed, weak, and sick. If you do, it’s oftentimes a sign of relapse. This is why you need to tell your doctor about any negative changes you have recently been feeling and how they negatively affect your body. Doing so can save your life!