Haematology is a speciality that deals with the diagnosis and management treatment of all diseases related to blood. Among these, cancers that are related to blood and non-cancerous diseases which cause abnormalities in either red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC) or the platelets are treatable. Hematologists are involved in treatments of diseases like coagulation defects which means more bleeding, less bleeding, more clotting occurring in areas in which it should not happen, fluctuating hemoglobin and others.

Types of Blood Cancer:

• From a broader perspective, here are a few basic things about blood cancers.
• Blood cancers are one of the common malignancies and forms of cancers. They are known as ‘liquid cancers’ since blood is fluid, as opposed to solid cancers which are formed in organs like lungs, brains and other organ tissues. Blood cancer is one of the commonest forms of cancer that can be seen in children, and it is also associated with increased frequency as the age of a person increases, which means that as a person grows older there is a chance of more and more forms of cancer occurring.
• Blood cancer can be of two types - Chronic Cancer and Acute Blood Cancer. Chronic Blood Cancer is a slowly progressing disease and does not cause any immediate threat to life. However, acute blood cancer is very aggressive and progresses rapidly and can become fatal if not treated immediately.
• The only advantage of treating blood cancer is that blood is usually available and easily accessible, and tests for these can be easily done at labs. It can also be easily judged or picked up through a normal hemogram.
• The only problem is that unlike other cancers, there is no way to know why blood cancers occur.
• For example, lung cancers are associated with increased smoking, colon cancer involves certain dietary factors. The occurrence of these cancers can be prevented by preventing smoking and changing dietary changes. But because it is not known why blood cancers occur, there is no concrete way to understand how to prevent them. However, it has been noticed that in lower socio-economic countries where there is a higher use of fertilizers, there is a higher occurrence of blood cancers. it is being speculated if it is possible to change the occurrence of these cancers based on the consumption of fertilizers and chemicals that are used for agricultural practices and if they contribute towards the harmful impact.

Another important question that most patients have is, if mobile radiation or radiation from telephone towers can contribute towards the increased incidence of these cancers?
As of today, there is no absolute causality for these types of influences. However, compared to other cancers, these cancers are eminently curable and treatable. Blood cancers are usually spread all over the body since their diagnosis, and generally, most blood cancers are Stage 4.
Though they are at an advanced stage, if apt treatment is received, a sizable portion of patients can be completely cured.

The Occurrence of Blood-related Cancers:

There are several differences in how the cancers occur, and blood cancers start in the bone marrow. From these blood production sites, they get into the blood. There are also other organs known as lymphatics where lymphocytes are type 4 blood cells which circulate and their primary function is immune. However, blood cancer can also originate in the lymph nodes. Since the lymph nodes are spread across the body, they are present in the neck and throat. This causes cancer to originate from such places and is called lymphoma.

Treatment:

Both these kinds of cancers can be treated and often, cured. Treatment of these cancers typically involves chemotherapy, which means medications through IV or orally.  A chronic myeloid leukemia today can be simply treated with one tablet. This causes cancer to become treatable throughout the patient's lifetime. Continuing with the treatment will eventually help the patient get rid of the disease completely. However, all controls are not as easily available as this one, as some of these treatments can be quite intensive as they can need admissions and can cause side effects. However, the more aggressive the disease is, equally aggressive therapy can treat it.

Bone Marrow Transplant:

Blood cancer the patient may need a therapy called bone marrow transplant. During this process, the stem cells which produce blood cells are replaced because the blood cancer originates from the stem cells.
For a bone marrow transplant, it is necessary to have a donor which is typically a brother or sister, who has to match on the white cell group. Once the patient has a donor who is Human Leukocyte Antisa Match, the procedure can be started. The cure rate can be as high as 80-90% depending on when you do the procedure, after which the patient can lead a normal life.

Progress in Treatment Methods:

The further progress in blood cancer is that while examining blood cells, the type of coating on the cancer cell is examined. These are called CD antigens, and based on the type of blood cancers, antibodies can be produced that will specifically act against these cancers. This can be associated with much fewer side effects, thereby improving the effectiveness and decreasing the side effects of this therapy. Today, there are ways to train your immune system to attack these cancers, which are called carceral antigens or carceral antibodies.
Much progress is happening in the field of blood cancer treatment that will ultimately help in curing more and more patients.