The usual treatment for leukemia is medical treatment that starts with chemotherapy and can lead to a bone marrow transplant, provided the first step has no effect In this article Medical Syndromes, we tell you how to treat cancer in the blood or leukemia by telling you the most traditional treatments and explaining the alternative methods that are now popularizing.
Steps to follow:
1. It is important to know what leukemia is to understand the disease and be able to treat it. The alteration of the cells takes place during the maturation process of a large cell to a white blood cell, at this moment an error occurs which causes a chromosomal alteration to take place causing the cells to become cancerous and multiply in an uncontrolled manner.
Due to the large amount of cancer cells that begins to be in this process, they end up sneaking into the bone marrow replacing normal blood cells. Those that are infected spread through the blood, which makes it reach other vital organs such as the liver, spleen, kidneys or brain.
2. The treatment of leukemia is focused on completely destroying cancer cells and normal cells can be restored in the bone marrow. The first step to treat cancer is chemotherapy, a pharmacological treatment that will always depend on the patient’s conditions (age, sex, etc.) as well as the type of cancer in the blood that has developed.
The chemotherapy consists of taking different combinations of drugs that work to fight cancer. There are different types of chemotherapy that can be administered to the patient both intravenously and orally. However, this treatment has many side effects that affect the health of people:
- Intestinal problems (vomiting, changes in appetite, etc.)
- Hair loss
- Generalized fatigue
- Very weakened immune system
3. It is common for blood transfusions to be given to the patient with leukemia during the treatment of chemotherapy. This is done to correct the onset of diseases such as anemia and prevent bleeding so it is normal that these side treatments are done while on chemotherapy.
4. In the case where the treatment of the chemotherapy is not satisfactory, that is, it has not been able to eliminate the cancer cells of the organism; we proceed to the bone marrow transplant. This treatment is delicate but it is the best alternative to be able to cure cancer in the blood.
In order to do so, a donor compatible with the patient is needed; this is usually found in members of the same family who will have to give their consent to submit to the donation. In case there is no family compatibility you will have to choose to find a donor that is compatible with the patient, although this process is slow and complicated, it may be favorable.
5. There is another possibility to treat leukemia and it is that the same patient is doing what is known as an “autotransplant “. This is only possible when in the laboratory it is seen that a patient is in remission of cancer, and then it is possible to go to the patient’s marrow and remove the stem cells. In the laboratory again it is a question of extracting any carcinogenic trace that may be present in the cells and proceeding to the transplantation of the same marrow but regenerated.
6. The causes of leukemia remain unknown, that “error” that takes place in the maturation of cells is not known why it is caused or, therefore, how to prevent it. However, it is known that carrying out healthy lifestyle habits ensures that your body is healthier and can be more protected against cancer.
Practices such as eating a healthy diet, exercising, quitting smoking and drinking and sun protection are some of the most recommended. In this article we tell you how to prevent cancer with healthy habits.
7. Leukemia is a type of cancer that can be detected by experiencing a series of symptoms in your body and your state of health that reveal that something is happening inside you. Among the most common symptoms of leukemia we highlight the following:
- The decrease in platelets caused by this cancer makes the patient more tired and fatigued.
- Hunger also disappears and a sudden large weight loss can be observed.
- Appearance of anemia.
- Bruises appear on the skin for no apparent reason.
- Bleeding in areas such as the nose or rectum.
- Pain of bones and vital organs such as the stomach.
This article is merely informative, in a COMO we do not have the faculty to prescribe any medical treatment or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to go to a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to how to treat cancer in the blood or leukemia, we recommend you to enter our category of diseases and side effects.