From the year 2010, the month of September has been recognized as “National Blood Cancer Awareness Month”. A shocking statistic shows that approximately every three minutes, one person in the U.S. is diagnosed with blood cancer. This means that about 14,000 new cases of blood cancer will be diagnosed this month. People of the country don’t need more reason to learn about this deadly type of cancer. Today, almost 1.3 million people in the country are already living with or are in remission from one of the blood cancer types. So, it’s the right time to act against this.

Blood Cancer – An Overview:

Blood cancer is the type of cancer that develops in the bone marrow and spreads quickly into the blood. Over time, this would spread to the other parts like:

• Lymph nodes
• Spleen
• Liver
• Spinal fluid
• Other organs

There are three major types of blood cancer. They are:

• Leukemia
• Lymphoma
• Myeloma

Leukemia: This is the type of cancer that is found in the blood and bone marrow and is caused by the rapid synthesis of abnormal white blood cells. The larger amounts of these abnormal white blood cells will not be able to fight infection. This condition would also impair the ability of the bone marrow to synthesize red blood cells and platelets.

Lymphoma: This is the type of cancer that is found in the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is the one which removes excess fluid contents from the body and produces the immune cells. The lymphocytes are the type of white blood cells that fight infection. In simple, lymphoma cells are the abnormal lymphocytes that would multiply over time. These cancerous lymphoma cells would then impair the immune system.

Myeloma: This is the type of cancer that affects the plasma cells. The plasma cells are the white blood cells that synthesize disease-fighting antibodies. The myeloma cells would prevent the normal synthesis of antibodies thereby, leaving the immune system weakened. Thus, the affected individual would become susceptible to infection.

Blood Cancers are challenging! Here’s why?

Blood cancers are often challenging because more than a third of patients with blood cancers are not found to be surviving five years after the diagnosis. In addition, the treatments for blood cancers would lead to several challenging side effects like the following:

• Peripheral neuropathy
• Nausea
• Pain
• Mucositis

Besides all these, the treatments are very costly due to the fact that these cancers are very complicated.

Ways to Get Involved:

During this year’s blood cancer awareness month, it’s important for each and every individual in the U.S. to get involved in the step against this deadly disease. There are several ways in which one can get involved in this move. Some of these ways are as follows:

Making a Donation:

Simply make a donation through any blood cancer foundation through their websites in September. There are several organizations that are working towards the goal of raising funds to be used for blood cancer research, education, as well as access to affordable treatments. Donating even a small sum would be of greater help and can be used to save someone’s life.

Organizing an Event:

By using September as a golden chance, individuals can organize their own fundraiser campaigns in aid of blood cancer. Alternatively, a person who cannot contribute directly through donations can take part in the fundraiser campaigns that are being conducted by various organizations. There are lots of ways to get the family members and friends involved in the campaigns like these. It’s to be noted that fundraising is very critical to make sure that we are supporting the people affected by a blood cancer.

Shouting on Social Media:

People can make use of social media for spreading awareness about the deadly blood cancers. They can very well spread knowledge on blood cancer by simply using some hash tags like #bebloodcanceraware, #bloodcancerawarenessmonth, and so on. One should not stop with this. He/she must encourage his/her friends also to join the campaign.

Becoming an Advocate:

Anyone can do this by reaching out to the members of Congress about the “Medicare Part D” and tell them to work on reducing the costs of co-pays for senior citizens whose treatments are falling within the “specialty tier”. It’s to be noted that the “Medicare Part D” is supposed to help senior citizens manage the costs of their prescriptions. But, the patients with blood cancer are facing extreme co-pays as this comes under the “specialty tier”.

One can also do this ask his/her local representative to help patients afford the expensive treatments through the “Patient’s Access to Treatments Act”. Alternatively, people can also write to Congress asking them to increase the federal funding for blood cancer-related research.

These are just examples by which a person can get involved in the Blood Cancer Awareness. One can use their own creativity so as to create awareness about the deadly blood cancers among the general public. Thus, he/she can help save a number of lives!