Second Opinion for Blood Cancer Treatment

What is Blood Cancer Treatment?

Blood cancer is a multifaceted condition. It occurs because of the abnormal growth of cells in the blood or the bone marrow, the region where blood cells are produced.

Blood cancer has several subtypes that influence the type of treatment you will receive. These treatments focus on slowing the growth of abnormal blood cells or eliminating them.

Some of the commonly used blood cancer treatments include

• Chemotherapy:  In this method, your hemato-oncologist will use drugs to kill the cancerous blood cells. Though this treatment prevents cancer from spreading, it can damage normal cells and have side effects. Chemotherapy can be given in combination with other treatments.
• Targeted therapy: This form of treatment uses drugs that target the unique characteristics of cancer cells(proteins, genes) that are not present in normal cells.
• Immunotherapy: It harnesses the ability of the immune system to identify and eliminate cancer cells. Some immunotherapy drugs function by attaching to cancer cells, making it easier for your immune system to find cancer cells and destroy them.
• Bone Marrow Transplantation: This procedure involves the replacement of cells damaged by cancer with healthy stem cells. These stem cells can be obtained from your body(autologous) or a healthy donor (allogenic).
• Radiation therapy: This method directs high-energy radiation to the region of the patient’s body where the cancer cells are present to kill them.

Why should you opt for a Second Opinion before undergoing Blood Cancer Treatment?

In case you have been diagnosed with Blood cancer, the next course of action would be to choose the best treatment for yourself. But, before you go through with the treatment, it is important to consider getting a second opinion from well-qualified experts. Here are some reasons why you should get a second opinion:

• It reconfirms your diagnosis: It is not a mystery that there are many cases of misdiagnosis every year. Almost 88% of patients who seek a second opinion find a change in their diagnosis. The complex nature of blood cancer can make it tricky to accurately diagnose the condition. Thus, getting a second opinion can reassure you that the symptoms are because of blood cancer and not some other disease.
• It revalidates your treatment: Choosing the right treatment for blood cancer is crucial. A second opinion from experts specialized in treating blood cancers can validate the treatment plan prescribed by your primary physician. This is beneficial if you have been advised to go for high-risk treatment options that you may be worried about.
• It offers more insight into alternative treatments: It is not always necessary to go forward with the first treatment option prescribed to you. There are many advanced blood cancer treatments you can choose from.  But, it may be possible that the latest treatments are unavailable in your country. A second opinion can provide more information about such novel treatments and the countries from where you can avail them.
• It provides more information about the disease: Sometimes, your primary physician may lack expert knowledge about blood cancer. In such a scenario, availing a second opinion provides more detailed information about your condition, the location of cancer, its prognosis, and the impact of treatment.

Costing of Second Opinion for Blood Cancer

You can avail  Second Opinion for Blood Cancer at an affordable price from MediGence:

Most Common Conditions to be Diagnosed for Blood Cancer Treatment

Many disorders mimic blood cancer leading to its misdiagnosis. Thus, it is important to get a second opinion before starting your treatment. Such conditions include

• Bleeding disorders: Certain bleeding disorders like Hemophilia can mimic symptoms of blood cancers such as unexplainable bleeding. Hemophilia compromises the process of blood clotting in the body and can lead to persistent bleeding.
• Autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome(ALS): This disease is characterized by a dysregulated production of immune cells in the body. ALS causes enlarged lymph nodes and symptoms like fatigue and skin rashes. This can lead to the disease being misdiagnosed as blood cancer.
• Immune thrombocytopenic purpura: This disorder causes excessive bleeding and bruising. It occurs because of low levels of platelets in the body. Its presenting symptoms can lead to a wrong diagnosis of blood cancer.

Symptoms of Blood Cancer

You need to provide information about your symptoms on MediGence’s Second Opinion platform. This enables the second opinion doctors to ascertain if your symptoms are in line with the diagnosed condition. Some of the commonly observed signs and symptoms of blood cancer are

• Unexplainable weight loss, bleeding, or bruising
• Swellings or lumps
• Loss of appetite
• Breathlessness
• Joint or abdomen pain
• Flu-like fever
• Night sweats
• Fatigue
• Recurrent infections
• Itchy skin and rashes

Questions to ask your doctor for Blood Cancer Treatment

A second opinion gives you an opportunity to ask questions related to your disease, its treatment, and prognosis from a team of board-certified experts. As a patient with blood cancer, you can ask the following questions:

• What is the best treatment for my condition?
• Is that particular treatment option available in my country? If not, which country can provide it?
• How long will I be in the hospital for the treatment?
• Is the disease curable?
• What are the chances of recurrence of the disease after the treatment?
• When do I need to start my treatment? Do I need to start it immediately or I can wait for some time to observe my condition?
• How will I know whether the treatment is working or not?

Tests Required before undergoing a Second opinion for Blood Cancer Treatment

The board of doctors requires detailed information about your condition and health status to give a comprehensive second opinion. Some of the documents that you should upload on the MediGence clinical workbench for a second opinion include

• Blood test reports: Blood tests provide information about the type and number of cells present in the blood. Since blood cancers can have a dramatic effect on blood cell counts, submitting blood test reports helps the doctor to reconfirm your blood cancer diagnosis.

• Bone marrow biopsy: It is important to provide bone marrow biopsy results as it can help to check if the bone marrow is producing a normal number of blood cells. This provides the necessary input to the board of doctors for confirming the diagnosis of blood cancer.

• Other imaging tests: You can upload DICOM files of imaging tests like X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs on the MediGence clinical workbench. These will help the doctor to study the extent to which cancer has spread in the body.

• Medical history: Medical history provides information about past diseases and the current or previous treatments received for blood cancer. Thus, the second opinion board can verify if you are receiving the best treatment for your condition or if other alternatives would be better.

A Second Opinion with MediGence

A Second Opinion for blood cancer can protect you from misdiagnosis and eliminate the possibility of wrong treatment. Availing a second opinion through MediGence has many benefits:

• Trusted and qualified medical experts: You will receive a second opinion from a team of trusted, talented, and qualified hematologists and hemato-oncologists. They will thoroughly review your case and give expert medical opinions on your diagnosis or prescribed treatment. The second opinion doctors may also suggest some alternative treatments.

• Easy to navigate: The entire process of receiving a second opinion through MediGence is easy. You will be assisted by the MediGence team at every step of the process.

• Timely report: We at Medigence value your time. Thus, your second opinion report will be delivered to you within 5 days.

• Convenient: MediGence has made it convenient to upload your DICOM files and prescriptions of current treatments. This will provide your team of doctors with all the requisite information to give an informed second opinion.

What to do when a second opinion differs from my ongoing/proposed line of treatment?

When a second opinion differs from the ongoing line of treatment, it is normal to feel concerned and start looking for ways to get the right treatment. This will not be an issue if you are availing a second opinion with MediGence as

• The second opinion board of doctors will recommend treatment options based on your diagnosis.  This will be given to you in the form of a detailed written report.

• You can even avail a teleconsultation session with the lead doctor of the board handling your case. This allows you to clear your doubts and understand the provided second opinion in-depth.

• After weighing the pros and cons, you can choose the best treatment for yourself.

• If the treatment you require is unavailable in your country and you wish to travel, MediGence can provide on-ground assistance for it.

• Traveling for treatment to another country can become overwhelming. Thus, MediGence also provides patient care support services for a smooth experience.

Facts about Blood Cancer  (from around the world)

Some interesting facts about Blood cancers include:

• Approximately 1.24 million blood cancer cases occur annually around the globe.
• Blood cancers constitute about 6% of all cancer cases occurring worldwide every year.
• It is estimated that approximately 720,000 people die from blood cancers annually.  Deaths because of blood cancers account for over 7% of all cancer deaths.
• There are primarily three types of blood cancers: lymphoma, leukemia, and myeloma.
• There are many risk factors for blood cancers. But some of them like age, gender, and race cannot be prevented.

Reference Links:

• https://bloodcancer.org.uk/understanding-blood-cancer/treatment/blood-cancer-types-treatment/
• Leukaemia.org
• https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/11582-immunotherapy