Myelodysplatic Syndrome Essay

Leukemia is cancerous disease that starts in blood-forming tissue such as the bone marrow and causes large numbers of blood cells to be produced and enter the blood-stream (National Cancer Institute, 2008, para. 1). It is one of many complicated cancer diseases that affect all ages and have very negative outcomes if not treated properly, and on time. Within the disease are several different types that affect according to how quickly the disease develops and attacks the body. It could be classified as chronic leukemia, which has a slow progress of getting worse or acute leukemia which usually gets worse quickly. The types of leukemia also can be grouped based on the white blood cell that is affected (National Cancer Institute , 2008, p. 1).

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva also known as FOP is a one of the rarest, most disabling genetic bone conditions known to medicine. FOP causes muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissues to turn in to bone. Movement becomes limited in the affected areas of the body. People with FOP typically have malformed toes at birth, meaning the big toe is typically shorter than normal and abnormally turned outward in a position called a valgus deviation. Symptoms of FOP start to show up in early childhood. Most people with FOP develop painful tumor-like swellings also known as fibrous nodules. The fibrous nodules are visible on the neck, shoulders, and back.

The impeded blood flow also causes swelling of the patient 's hands and feet. In addition, the abnormal shaped red blood cells cause damage to the spleen, an organ that helps fight against infection (4). Subsequently, patients are more susceptible to contracting infections that require antibiotics and/or vaccinations. As mentioned earlier, red blood cells are produced in the long bones of the human body. The long bones are the bones that contribute most to height; because the red blood cells are impaired, long bone growth is impaired and thus affects overall growth (4). Furthermore, some patients report vision problems as a symptom. Small blood vessels supply the eyes with blood and oxygen, because blood flow is impeded to small blood vessels, vision is impaired (4). If a person experiences these symptoms, they may be diagnosed with SCD. A blood test can be performed to confirm whether or not a person has SCD. A blood test can detect hemoglobin S, the form of hemoglobin that is attributed to sickle cell anemia (4). This type is test is usually performed as a part of newborn screening and similar tests may be performed in older children and adults.

There are 13,000 people diagnosed each year with Myelodysplastic syndrome in America. Robin Roberts is just one of those many people (American Cancer Society).

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a rare life-threatening cancer that affects the white blood cells known as plasma cells that are found in the soft, spongy tissue at the center of the bones, called bone marrow. The plasma cells are useful in fighting infections by producing antibodies that recognize and attack germs. The plasma cells are transformed into malignant myeloma cells when there are high levels of M proteins or better known as the production of abnormal antibodies from a result of myeloma cells. These M proteins multiple and block out normally functioning antibodies and the end results are bone damage or kidney problems. An individual can have blood tests or urine tests done to determine if they have multiple myeloma. In the article, “The work of living with a rare cancer: multiple myeloma” the authors explain how this type of cancer still remains incurable, but treatable that patients can expect to live longer, approximately five to seven years than what two decades ago. This was not expected for patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma during the 1990s, since patients were expected to only live about two and a half years after being diagnosed. Treatment for multiple myeloma throughout the years has advanced greatly yet a cure is still to be discovered. This essay will focus of the causes, the sign and symptoms, how multiple myeloma is detected and diagnosed, and how multiple myeloma is treated.

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.

Myelofibrosis is a bone marrow disorder that leads to a disruption of the body’s ability to produce normal healthy blood cells. A rare form of chronic leukemia, the disease often worsens over time and may cause some patients to develop more serious types of leukemia. Conversely, other people have myelofibrosis and go for years without noticing any symptoms.

Writer describes trends in the costs of care for treating at least three diseases or conditions.

Previous patients who have been treated with cancer that have gone through radiation and chemotherapy have increased the risk of developing MDS. MDS is a type of bone marrow disorder that may develop into acute leukemia. This has been linked to past radiation exposure. The amount and dosage of radiation that may reach to bone marrows may increase their chance of developing MDS. Environmental risk factors that increase the risk of contracting MDS, include high doses of radiation from long-term exposure to benzene, alkylating agents and ionizing radiation. Exposure to metals and chemicals such as lead, mercury, tobacco smoke, pesticide, fertilizers and solvents also increases this risk.

After the death of her husband, and for about three decades there was peace in her life as she stated, she would do the things she loved and was active all the time, but then she noticed different things happening to her. When Jane was 66 years old, she had found out that she was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma and she already half way through stage one. “They provided me with a medicine named Melphalan, and it was the worst thing ever.” She took Melphalan by pill and it had many side effects including her getting weaker, she had said that she had started losing her appetite. She didn’t let this incurable disease stop her from doing things she

After, the doctor gives further treatments to help prevent the return of the signs and symptoms of the disease after an improvement. Most of patient with acute forms of leukemia can be cured today. It is one of the most curable forms of cancer. Chronic leukemia is detected through a routine blood test before symptoms appear. With this people may not need treatment right away if they are not having symptoms yet, the doctors monitor the disease until treatment is needed. Most of the time it cannot be cured, but it can be controlled.

Though most of these symptoms are caused by many things other than leukemia it is still very important to alert your doctor when you notice these things, as it may be crucial in detecting a problem in your child. Your doctor will then be able to move forward with gaining medical history and conducting a physical exam where they may look for swollen lymph nodes, areas of bleeding or bruising and signs of infection. Feeling the belly for swollen spleen or liver signs and thoroughly checking the eyes the mouth and the nervous system. Following the physical exam a finger prick may be obtain along with a blood sample. If test come back with abnormalities and bone marrow sample will need to be taken for sure. When the bone marrow samples are taken a biopsy is done usually at the same time. Doctors may also use a number of other test along with imaging test.

This means the revision of the WHO has been guided by several factors that includes the recent molecular feature discovery that yields new viewpoints regarding prognostic and diagnostic markers. In addition, WHO classified the MPDs based on standardization and characterization of morphological features that increased the reproducibility and reliability of MPDs diagnosis. Moreover, the new classification of PMDs is based on the number of clinical-pathological studies have now confirmed the WHO claim of a combined approach that includes molecular genetics, morphologic, cytogenetic, and hematologic findings. For these reasons, the fourth edition PMDs classification is being updated, but the recent WHO classification is not a major renovation of PMDs categories. Rather, it is anticipated to incorporate new knowledge of these disorders (Arber et al.,

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) accounts for half of leukemia cases diagnosed in teenagers and in people in their 20s. It is the most common acute leukemia in adults. AML occurs when primitive blood-forming cells called myeloblasts reproduce without developing into normal blood cells. Immature myeloblasts crowd the bone marrow and interfere with the production of normal blood cells. This leads to anemia, a condition in which a person does not have enough red blood cells. It can also lead to bleeding and bruising (due to a lack of blood platelets, which help the blood to clot) and frequent infections (due to a lack of protective white blood cells).

Bone marrows major function is to produce new blood cells in the body. People with Shwachmans syndrome have bone marrow failure. The blood cells that the bone marrow makes includes white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. White blood cells fight infection and red blood cells carry oxygen to the body's tissues. Platelets are necessary for blood to clot. Due to the lack of white blood cells from this disease, most people that are diagnosed have neutropenia. Reduced number of red blood cells cause weakness and fatigue. The loss of platelets