“Myelodysplastic syndromes are a group of disorders caused by poorly formed or dysfunctional blood cells.” (Mayo Clinic 2015) Myelodysplastic syndromes, also known as bone marrow failure syndromes, occur when the bone marrow is not doing its job of providing enough functional, healthy blood cells. These syndromes generally occur with geriatric patients, and are responsible for a host of issues such as abnormal bleeding, infection, bruising, and anemia. People with these syndromes generally present with some form of cytopenia, whether it be anemia, neutropenia, or thrombocytopenia. MDS causes the cells produced to usually have shorter life spans, resulting in less mature blood cells making it out into the circulatory system. These cells tend to have abnormal shapes and appearances in addition to their failure to function correctly. MDS is a progressive disease, and generally is not considered terminal, although some patients will progress into acute myeloid leukemia as a result of the disease. Unlike some other syndromes, MDS is not inherited, and there are many risk factors that will be discussed later that can exacerbate this illness.
Myelodysplastic syndromes occur when blood cells are misshapen and dysfunctional. These syndromes generally do not cause symptoms in the beginning, but as they progress the signs and symptoms make themselves known. Some symptoms include shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, pallor, petechiae, abnormal bleeding and bruising, and
Fatigue: The growth and development of red blood cells in the bone marrow may be suppressed while having increase in the number of malignant plasma cells, which then cause low levels of red blood cells in the blood. This condition, know as anemia, can result in unusual fatigue or weakness.
Sickle Cell Anemia is a group of disorders that cause red blood cells to become misshapen and break down. Sickle Cell Anemia affects many people all over the world; Sickle cell disease is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States, affecting 70,000 to 80,000 Americans (Ashley-Koch, Yang and Olney). Sickle Cell Anemia causes your red blood cells to be thin, stiff, and shaped like a sickle. But your red blood cells are supposed to be round and soft. When a person is diagnosed with sickle cell anemia the blood cells start to become clogged blood vessels, which can cause a great amount of health issues including: infections, stroke, and acute chest syndrome. People get sickle cell anemia by inheriting a mutated gene from both of their parents. On the down side, there is not currently an effective cure for sickle cell anemia, there are several different therapeutic approaches to treating and attempting to cure the disease and help people who are affected with sickle cell anemia better manage their symptoms. There have also been several great scientists that dedicated a lot of research to help find a cure for sickle cell anemia.
Multiple Myeloma is a form of cancer which affects the plasma cells of the body, which are white blood cells. Multiple Myeloma, first described in 1848, is a disease “characterized by a proliferation of malignant plasma cells and a subsequent overabundance of monoclonal paraprotein.” To understand how Multiple Myeloma affects an infected person’s plasma cells, it helps to have a general understanding of how normal blood cells are formed and how they act. Most blood cells develop from stem cells, which can be found in bone marrow (soft material inside our bones – the “filling”). Stem cells mature into white blood cells, red blood cells, or platelets.2 The purpose of white blood cells is to fight off infection, while
Leukemia is a malignant disease or cancer of the bone marrow and blood. It is characterized by the uncontrolled accumulation of blood cells (American Cancer Society, 216). Leukemia is divided into four categories: myelogenous or lymphocytic, each of which can be acute or chronic (Medicine Net, 2015). The true cause is unknown but studies have shown things like exposure to high-energy radiation and harmful lifestyle choices such as drinking and smoking increase your
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, is the disease that affects children the most and because of the abnormal cells that are immature white blood cells which cannot help the body fight infections cause children with the disease to often get infections and have fevers (National Cancer Institute, 2002, p. 1). The symptoms that the patient with ALL may have depend on the number of abnormal cells of the patient where exactly the cells collect. Children patients with ALL have low amounts of healthy red blood cells and platelets, which cause less oxygen to be carried through the body because of the lack of red blood cells. Patients at times may look pale, feel weak, and tired causing bleeding and bruising very easily because of their lack of enough platelets. This condition is called anemia. Anemia is very much common in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Fever, fatigue, bone or joint pain, tiny red spots under the skin called petechiae are a couple of symptoms that the disease ALL has. Headaches with, or without vomiting also may occur if patient happens to have abnormal cells collecting in the brain or spinal cord (National Cancer Institute, 2002 para. 2).
People who have Myelodysplastic Syndrome may not experience symptoms at the beginning of the disease. However, there are three main signs that can develop and alert healthcare providers that something is wrong. One of these is a low red blood cell count, or Anemia. Most patients that have myelodysplastic syndromes exhibit this indicator when first diagnosed. A normal red blood count can vary between 4.0 and 6.1 million red blood cells per microliter of blood in the body, depending on the age and sex of the patient. A red blood cell count lower than normal is characteristic of Anemia (Cafasso, Jacquelyn, and Gotter). Not only is Anemia shown by constantly low hematocrit, but it can also be characterized by constantly low hemoglobin. A normal hemoglobin count is between 12.0 and 15.5 grams per deciliter of blood for females, and 13.5 to 17.5 grams per deciliter of blood for males. Levels lower than these show a low hemoglobin level (Mayo Clinic, Hemoglobin Test). Hemoglobin is the protein in blood that carries oxygen to the different tissues in the body.
Jacobs regards to his diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment options. I explained to Mr. Jacobs that myelodysplastic syndrome is a hematopoietic stem cell disorder characterized by dysplastic and an effective blood cell production within the bone marrow and puts the patient at variable risk for transformation to acute leukemia. I explained to him that this disorder may occurred the Novo will rise after potentially mutagenetic therapy or environmental exposure to toxins. Patient's with MDS have variable reduction in the production of red blood cells, platelets, and mature granulocytes. In addition, these formed elements sometimes exhibit qualitative functional defects. These quantitative and qualitative abnormalities often result in a variety of systemic consequences including anemia, bleeding, and increased risk for infection. I explained to him that the pathogenesis of MDS is incompletely understood. The patient has already undergone a bone marrow biopsy and aspiration which was consistent with a myelodysplastic syndrome with excess blasts and transformation. The patient has already started growth factor support. My plan moving forward is to start the patient on Vidaza, which is a antineoplastic agent, DNA methylation inhibitor. The plan will be to start the patient on 75 mg/m2 per day for five days of Vidaza and repeat the cycle every 28 days. It is possible that he may develop worsening of his peripheral blood counts with
The most common symptoms are pale skin, fatigue, weight loss, fever, easy bruising, tiredness, shortness of breath, loss of appetite and constant nosebleeds. The mental symptoms are mixed emotions and denial (American Cancer Society). The environmental causes of Myelodysplastic syndrome is exposure to radiation and exposure to certain chemicals. This is called secondary Myelodysplastic syndrome. Natural causes of Myelodysplastic syndrome is family medical history and genetics. Men and woman have a higher risk of being diagnosed with Myelodysplastic syndrome if a family member had the disease (Elaine
Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of disorders that occur when there is a disruption in the bone marrow’s ability to produce healthy blood cells. It is a rare condition that most often affects older adults. In some cases, there is a chance that MDS could eventually progress to leukemia. For that reason, it is sometimes called preleukemia. Some forms of the disorder have no obvious cause, while others appear as a response to chemical exposure or cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. In addition, subjection to heavy metals increases the risk of experiencing MDS.
Yearly, around six hundred to nine hundred people are diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia within the United States. Aplastic Anemia is a autoimmune hematological disorder that causes pancytopenia which is a reduction in major blood components, namely, erythrocytes, leukocytes and platelets. This disease has been labelled as a type of bone marrow failure, that is often due to not one but a variety of disorders that occur simultaneously. Aplastic Anemia can therefore be defined as a bone marrow disorder that is often rare, non contagious, and can often be life threatening.
Myelodysplastic disorders (MDS) are conditions that happen when the blood-forming cells within the bone marrow are harmed. This harm prompts low quantities of one or more sorts of platelets. Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of diseases of the blood characterized by a defect in the bone marrow that produces abnormally or insufficient blood red, blood cells white and platelets. MDS is also called pre-leukemia because, over time, can develop into leukemia become acute and should not be confused with Myeloproliferative syndromes.
Leukemia is a cancer that affects the bone marrow. The bon marrow is the soft spongy center of the bone that produces blood cells. Leukemia is found in white blood cells or leukocytes. The white blood cells help to fight ff infections and other diseases. Normally, cells produce in an orderly way, but people that have leukemia the cell production gets out of control. The marrow produces too many immature white blood cells called blasts. They are differently shaped and can’t carry out their usual duties.
Leukemia is caused by mutations in the bone marrow cells. The cell does not develop properly into a normal mature white blood cell, and becomes cancerous. Abnormal white blood cell is unable to perform its functions. At the same time abnormal cells begin actively proliferate. As a result, the number of cancer cells increases, and they begin to displace healthy cells. This leads to anemia, bleeding, and infection.
Mr. Q is a unique, seventy-six year-old male, who comes from a large, but loving, family of ten siblings and hard working parents. Mr. Q is a Montreal born Canadian citizen, who worked hard in his adult life as a mechanic and for the Societe de Transport de Montreal as a bus driver, he currently lives in Montreal with his wife, Mrs. Q, see Appendix A & B for complete family genogram and ecomap. He lives with the chronic illness, Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) a hematological cancer that causes ineffective and dysplastic blood cell production, which may reduce erythrocytes, granulocytes and platelets (Aster and Stone, 2016). Mr. Q was diagnosed while at the Chest Institute, for an exercise program to manage Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), he developed a random episode of hemoptysis post-exercise in September 2015, his Respirologist and treating nurse referred him to emergency, he was then transfered to Dr. Starring, his current treating Oncologist who diagnosed him with MDS. His Oncologist gave him a prognosis of fifteen to twenty years with treatment, which is packed red blood cells (PRBCs) every two weeks to help manage his anemia. His wife and family were heavily impacted by his diagnosis, and Mrs. Q describes the event as “un choc comme vous le voyez à la télévision ou vous voyez the famille qui vole en l’air après avoir eu l’information que leur membre de famille sont diagnostique avec un cancer.” She voices that this Quebec
Sickle Cell Anemia is a group of disorders that cause red blood cells to become misshapen and break down. Sickle cell disease is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States, affecting 70,000 to 80,000 Americans (Ashley-Koch, Yang and Olney). Sickle Cell Anemia causes your red blood cells to be thin, stiff, and shaped like a sickle. But your red blood cells are supposed to be round and soft. A person that is diagnosed with sickle cell anemia, their blood cells start to become clogged, causing blood clots, which can cause a great amount of health issues including: infections, stroke, and acute chest syndrome. People get sickle cell anemia by inheriting a mutated gene from both of their parents. On the down side, there is not currently an effective cure for sickle cell anemia, there are several different therapeutic approaches to treating and attempting to cure the disease and help people who are affected with sickle cell anemia better manage their symptoms. There have also been several great scientists that dedicated a lot of research to help find a cure for sickle cell anemia.