What is blood cancer?
Most blood cancers begin in the bone marrow, where stem cells are produced. Normally, these stem cells mature into red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets. Blood cancer occurs when something disrupts this process leading to cells not developing properly or multiplying rapidly. These cells then overwhelm the healthy ones causing cancer to develop.
Our blood cells give us energy and help fight infection, so when they become cancerous all of these important functions are put at risk. There are over 100 types of blood cancer, but mainly fall into these categories:
Leukaemia – affects blood cells in your bone marrow, usually white blood cells.
Lymphoma – affects white blood cells called lymphocytes
Myeloma – affects white blood cells called plasma cells.
Around 400,000 people are diagnosed with blood cancer each year, with roughly 280,000 people living with blood cancer in the UK. Below is some helpful information to know about who is at higher risk and the symptoms. Remember, if you are worried or show any signs, please call your GP.
What are the risk factors of blood cancer?
The exact cause of blood cancer is not fully understood, currently experts belief the causes are a combination of factors and risks do vary between the 100 different types of blood cancer. However, there are several general risks across the board that can affect the likelihood of developing certain blood cancers.
- Age – Though blood cancer can affect people at any age, it is more commonly diagnosed as you get older. This is because you are more likely to pick up mutations or faults in your DNA that can lead to blood cancer
- Sex – Generally blood cancer is more common in men as one in 16 men and one in 22 women will develop blood cancer at some point in their lifetime.
- Family history – There is evidence to suggest that for some types of blood cancer, having a close relative with blood cancer may slightly increase your risk, it’s unclear whether this is due to inherited genes or other factors.
- Radiation or chemical exposure – Long term exposure to high-energy radiation, pesticides or industrial chemicals may increase the risk of developing blood cancer but exposure would need to be at a much higher rate than is experienced in everyday life in the UK.
What are the symptoms of blood cancer?
Though the symptoms of each type of blood cancer differs, these are some of the common symptoms.
- Unexplained bruising, bleeding or rash
- Unexpected weight loss
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Persistent, recurrent or severe infections
- Pain in your bones, joints or abdomen
- Fever of 38°C or above
- Night sweats
- Lumps or swellings
If you have symptoms that could be caused by cancer, you should visit your GP who will discuss the various test options. If the GP thinks your symptoms could be due cancer, they may recommend having a blood test to check your full blood count, liver function test and urea and electrolytes.