Cancer
What is a transfusion? And when does one receive a transfusion? A transfusion is the process of giving someone various blood components from a donor. Blood cannot be manufactured and it can only come from generous donors. About 30 million blood components are transfused each year in the US. Red blood cells are your body’s energy cells. They carry oxygen from your lungs to your organs, muscles, and brain. Platelets…
What is an infection? Infection is invasion of the body by disease-causing organisms. These organisms include bacteria, virus, and fungi. Ordinarily, a healthy immune system can effectively fight off these pathogens. In severe cases, your physicians can prescribe antimicrobial agents to treat and eliminate most of these organisms. Why are cancer patients more prone to infections? The immune system of a cancer patient is often rendered ineffective by multiple causes. The…
What is chemotherapy? Chemotherapy are medicines that are often used to treat cancer. There are many different types of chemotherapy and these medicines work in a variety of ways to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy agents are often medicines that kill rapidly growing cells. Cancer cells often grow very fast, making them highly susceptible to killing by chemotherapy. Combinations of different chemotherapy medications can be used throughout the treatment course in…
It has now been one year since our daughter, Keira passed away after battling leukemia most of her life. My husband and I decided to honor her memory and support those children currently battling childhood cancer by shaving our heads. To some, it might seem odd that we waited until after Keira was no longer here to pay this tribute and stand in solidarity with her, but to us, it…
What is Leukemia? Leukemia is a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow. It usually develops in the bone marrow- the spongy tissue inside the bones. The bone marrow is the “factory“ which produces all the cells in our blood. Here is a diagram of blood cell production with the different types of cells: In leukemia, instead of normal blood cells, the bone marrow produces large numbers of…
What is a clinical trial? Clinical trials are research studies which involve the participation of people. They are conducted after a lot of preliminary work has been done in the research labs. Participants in clinical trials receive specific interventions according to the research plan developed by the investigators. These interventions may be treatment with medications, use of devices or changes to participants’ behavior, such as diet. Clinical trials are used…