You Need to Know Four Types of Blood Cancer Treatment

After being reported suffering from blood cancer, former first lady Ani Yudhoyono is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatment at Singapore’s National University Hospital. Chemotherapy is indeed one of the treatments that is often used in the treatment of blood cancer. However, this type of treatment can also vary depending on the type of cancer being experienced.

In blood cancers that develop slowly, for example, chronic granulocytic leukemia (LGK), the treatment that is generally used is to use tablets that are consumed regularly every day. However, in blood cancers that develop very quickly, such as acute leukemia or non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, intensive and aggressive chemotherapy treatment is more appropriate.

In addition to education about blood cancer, people really need to know the various types of treatment. Here are some types of blood cancer treatment that you need to know:

1. Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is one of the most widely used treatments for blood cancer. Depending on the type of blood cancer, chemotherapy can be done aggressively by giving an infusion of chemotherapy drugs into a vein. Apart from that, it can also be done using tablets that are consumed every day on a long-term basis.

In acute leukemia and lymphoma, generally aggressive chemotherapy needs to be done to kill the malignant blood cells. To carry out this method of treatment, the patient must be hospitalized and placed in a special sterile room for chemotherapy.

This needs to be done to prevent infection because all blood cells in the body will decrease drastically after the chemotherapy procedure. In aggressive chemotherapy, patients often also need large amounts of blood transfusions.

In blood cancers that develop slowly, chemotherapy tablets can be consumed every day. This type of treatment does not require hospitalization. In general, patients with this type of blood cancer (for example, patients with chronic leukemia) can do almost the same activities as healthy people. However, in some patients, occasional blood transfusions are needed.

2. Radiation

Radiation or medically known as radiotherapy is a treatment for blood cancer using high-energy rays to kill cancer cells. Unlike chemotherapy, where the substance is spread throughout the body, radiation only affects certain parts of the body. For example, if irradiation is carried out on the spine, then only the cells in the spine will experience the impact of the radiation.

One thing that needs to be understood is that not all blood cancers can be treated with radiation. Types of blood cancer that require radiation include acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and lymphoma.

3. Bone marrow transplant

Bone marrow is the part of the body that is responsible for producing all types of blood cells. In blood cancer, “the source of the problem” is located in the bone marrow. Instead of producing healthy blood cells, this organ secretes malignant cells.

In a bone marrow transplant, the way to do this is to insert bone marrow from a healthy person into a patient with blood cancer. This is so that the healthy bone marrow produces healthy blood cells as well. However, before a bone marrow transplant is carried out, generally chemotherapy and/or radiation must be carried out first to destroy all the malignant cells circulating in the body.

4. Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a new type of treatment to treat cancer. The principle of immunotherapy is to optimize the patient’s own immune system to kill cancer cells. Therefore, generally immunotherapy causes side effects less often than chemotherapy. Immunotherapy treatment is widely used for cases of lymphoma, especially non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

In the past, blood cancer was often thought of as a frightening disease and impossible to treat. However, along with the development of medical science and technology, now the hope for blood cancer sufferers to recover is greater, through various types of existing treatments.