Jane Doe
What is Aplastic Anemia?
Aplastic anemia is a disorder in which the bone marrow fails to make enough blood cells. The bone marrow is the soft, inner part of bones where the 3 types of blood cells are made:
Aplastic anemia is not a type of cancer but may be associated with certain cancers (especially those affecting the bone marrow, such as leukemia) or cancer treatments. A small number of patients with aplastic anemia may develop leukemia.
.jpeg)
Causes of Aplastic Anemia
The following are some common factors that can cause the bone marrow to become injured within the human body and potentially lead to aplastic anemia.
Radiation or Chemotherapy Treatments
Although these types of treatments help to kill cancer cells, they can also have a damaging effect on healthy cells within the body
Benzene Exposure
Benzene is a known carcinogen that can have a fatal affect on those who inhale, handle or ingest it over an extended time period
Medication Use
Some types of medications, such as antibiotics and drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis can be the cause of aplastic anemia
Autoimmune Disorder
Autoimmune disorders like lupus can cause your body to cause injury to the bone marrow and start attacking healthy cells
Viral Infections
Some viral infections could cause certain people to develop aplastic anemia
Pregnancy
Aplastic anemia can occur during pregnancy and could be related to an autoimmune problem
Other Unknown Factors- In half of aplastic anemia cases, doctors are unable to identify what is causing aplastic anemia in patients
Symptoms of Aplastic Anemia
Symptoms of aplastic anemia occur because of the low blood cell counts. Because of fewer RBCs present, people may have pale skin and feel tired, weak, or short of breath. The low platelet count may cause bruising and bleeding to easily occur. And people with aplastic anemia may be more likely to get bacterial infections because of the low number of WBCs, which fight infection. Cases of infection and hemorrhaging (excessive bleeding) are emergencies and must be treated quickly.
Other symptoms may include a waxy pallor to the skin and mucous membranes, bleeding gums, a lack of energy during exercise, and tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Premenopausal women may have an increased menstrual flow and duration. Massive bleeding is unusual.
Treatment for Aplastic Anemia
Treatments for aplastic anemia may include observation for mild cases, blood transfusions and medications for more serious cases, and, in severe cases, bone marrow transplantation. Severe aplastic anemia, in which your blood cell counts are extremely low, is life-threatening and requires immediate hospitalization for treatment.
Blood transfusions
Treatment for aplastic anemia usually involves blood transfusions to control bleeding and relieve anemia symptoms. Blood transfusions aren't a cure for aplastic anemia. But they do relieve signs and symptoms by providing blood cells that your bone marrow isn't producing. A transfusion may include:
Stem cell transplant
A stem cell transplant to rebuild the bone marrow with stem cells from a donor may offer the only successful treatment option for people with severe aplastic anemia. A stem cell transplant, which is also called a bone marrow transplant, is generally the treatment of choice for people who are younger and have a matching donor — most often a sibling.
If a donor is found, your diseased bone marrow is first depleted with radiation or chemotherapy. Healthy stem cells from the donor are filtered from the blood. The healthy stem cells are injected intravenously into your bloodstream, where they migrate to the bone marrow cavities and begin generating new blood cells. The procedure requires a lengthy hospital stay. After the transplant, you'll receive drugs to help prevent rejection of the donated stem cells.
A stem cell transplant carries risks. There's a chance that your body may reject the transplant, leading to life-threatening complications. In addition, not everyone is a candidate for transplantation or can find a suitable donor.
Immunosuppressants
For people who can't undergo a bone marrow transplant or for those whose aplastic anemia may be due to an autoimmune disorder, treatment may involve drugs that alter or suppress the immune system (immunosuppressants).
Drugs such as cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune) and anti-thymocyte globulin (Thymoglobulin) are examples. These drugs suppress the activity of immune cells that are damaging your bone marrow. This helps your bone marrow recover and generate new blood cells. Cyclosporine and anti-thymocyte globulin are often used in combination.
Immune-suppressing drugs can be very effective at treating aplastic anemia. The downside is that these drugs further weaken your immune system. It's also possible that after you stop taking these drugs, aplastic anemia may return.
Bone marrow stimulants
Certain drugs — including colony-stimulating factors, such as sargramostim (Leukine), filgrastim (Neupogen) and pegfilgrastim (Neulasta), and epoetin alfa (Epogen, Procrit) — may help stimulate the bone marrow to produce new blood cells. Growth factors are often used in combination with immune-suppressing drugs.
Antibiotics
Having aplastic anemia weakens your immune system. You have fewer white blood cells in circulation to fight off germs. This leaves you susceptible to infections.
At the first sign of infection, such as a fever, see your doctor. You don't want the infection to get worse, because it could prove life-threatening. If you have severe aplastic anemia, your doctor may give you antibiotics or antiviral medications to help prevent infections.
Lifestyle changes
You can't change the fact that you have had cancer. What you can change is how you live the rest of your life – making choices to help you stay healthy and feel as well as you can. This can be a time to look at your life in new ways. Maybe you are thinking about how to improve your health over the long term. Some people even start during cancer treatment.
Making healthier choices
For many people, a diagnosis of cancer helps them focus on their health in ways they may not have thought much about in the past. Are there things you could do that might make you healthier? Maybe you could try to eat better or get more exercise. Maybe you could cut down on the alcohol, or give up tobacco. Even things like keeping your stress level under control may help. Now is a good time to think about making changes that can have positive effects for the rest of your life. You will feel better and you will also be healthier.
Eating better
If treatment caused weight changes or eating or taste problems, do the best you can and keep in mind that these problems usually get better over time. You may find it helps to eat small portions every 2 to 3 hours until you feel better. You may also want to ask your cancer team about seeing a dietitian, an expert in nutrition who can give you ideas on how to deal with these treatment side effects.
One of the best things you can do after cancer treatment is put healthy eating habits into place. You may be surprised at the long-term benefits of some simple changes, like increasing the variety of healthy foods you eat. Getting to and staying at a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet, and limiting your alcohol intake may lower your risk for a number of types of cancer, as well as having many other health benefits.
Rest, fatigue, and exercise
Extreme tiredness, called fatigue, is very common in people treated for cancer. This is not a normal tiredness, but a "bone-weary" exhaustion that doesn't get better with rest. For some people, fatigue lasts a long time after treatment, and can make it hard for them to exercise and do other things they want to do. But exercise can help reduce fatigue. Studies have shown that patients who follow an exercise program tailored to their personal needs feel better physically and emotionally and can cope better, too.
If you were sick and not very active during treatment, it is normal for your fitness, endurance, and muscle strength to decline. Any plan for physical activity should fit your own situation. An older person who has never exercised will not be able to take on the same amount of exercise as a 20-year-old who plays tennis twice a week. If you haven't exercised in a few years, you will have to start slowly – maybe just by taking short walks.
Keep in mind exercise can improve your physical and emotional health.
.jpg)
Aplastic anemia is a disorder in which the bone marrow fails to make enough blood cells. The bone marrow is the soft, inner part of bones where the 3 types of blood cells are made:
- Red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the tissues from the lungs
- White blood cells, which fight infection
- Platelets, which seal damaged blood vessels to prevent bleeding
Aplastic anemia is not a type of cancer but may be associated with certain cancers (especially those affecting the bone marrow, such as leukemia) or cancer treatments. A small number of patients with aplastic anemia may develop leukemia.
Causes of Aplastic Anemia
The following are some common factors that can cause the bone marrow to become injured within the human body and potentially lead to aplastic anemia.
Radiation or Chemotherapy Treatments
Although these types of treatments help to kill cancer cells, they can also have a damaging effect on healthy cells within the body
Benzene Exposure
Benzene is a known carcinogen that can have a fatal affect on those who inhale, handle or ingest it over an extended time period
Medication Use
Some types of medications, such as antibiotics and drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis can be the cause of aplastic anemia
Autoimmune Disorder
Autoimmune disorders like lupus can cause your body to cause injury to the bone marrow and start attacking healthy cells
Viral Infections
Some viral infections could cause certain people to develop aplastic anemia
Pregnancy
Aplastic anemia can occur during pregnancy and could be related to an autoimmune problem
Other Unknown Factors- In half of aplastic anemia cases, doctors are unable to identify what is causing aplastic anemia in patients
Symptoms of Aplastic Anemia
Symptoms of aplastic anemia occur because of the low blood cell counts. Because of fewer RBCs present, people may have pale skin and feel tired, weak, or short of breath. The low platelet count may cause bruising and bleeding to easily occur. And people with aplastic anemia may be more likely to get bacterial infections because of the low number of WBCs, which fight infection. Cases of infection and hemorrhaging (excessive bleeding) are emergencies and must be treated quickly.
Other symptoms may include a waxy pallor to the skin and mucous membranes, bleeding gums, a lack of energy during exercise, and tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Premenopausal women may have an increased menstrual flow and duration. Massive bleeding is unusual.
Treatment for Aplastic Anemia
Treatments for aplastic anemia may include observation for mild cases, blood transfusions and medications for more serious cases, and, in severe cases, bone marrow transplantation. Severe aplastic anemia, in which your blood cell counts are extremely low, is life-threatening and requires immediate hospitalization for treatment.
Blood transfusions
Treatment for aplastic anemia usually involves blood transfusions to control bleeding and relieve anemia symptoms. Blood transfusions aren't a cure for aplastic anemia. But they do relieve signs and symptoms by providing blood cells that your bone marrow isn't producing. A transfusion may include:
- Red blood cells. Transfusions of red blood cells raise red blood cell counts. This helps relieve anemia and fatigue.
- Platelets. Transfusions of platelets help prevent excessive bleeding.
A stem cell transplant to rebuild the bone marrow with stem cells from a donor may offer the only successful treatment option for people with severe aplastic anemia. A stem cell transplant, which is also called a bone marrow transplant, is generally the treatment of choice for people who are younger and have a matching donor — most often a sibling.
If a donor is found, your diseased bone marrow is first depleted with radiation or chemotherapy. Healthy stem cells from the donor are filtered from the blood. The healthy stem cells are injected intravenously into your bloodstream, where they migrate to the bone marrow cavities and begin generating new blood cells. The procedure requires a lengthy hospital stay. After the transplant, you'll receive drugs to help prevent rejection of the donated stem cells.
A stem cell transplant carries risks. There's a chance that your body may reject the transplant, leading to life-threatening complications. In addition, not everyone is a candidate for transplantation or can find a suitable donor.
Immunosuppressants
For people who can't undergo a bone marrow transplant or for those whose aplastic anemia may be due to an autoimmune disorder, treatment may involve drugs that alter or suppress the immune system (immunosuppressants).
Drugs such as cyclosporine (Gengraf, Neoral, Sandimmune) and anti-thymocyte globulin (Thymoglobulin) are examples. These drugs suppress the activity of immune cells that are damaging your bone marrow. This helps your bone marrow recover and generate new blood cells. Cyclosporine and anti-thymocyte globulin are often used in combination.
Immune-suppressing drugs can be very effective at treating aplastic anemia. The downside is that these drugs further weaken your immune system. It's also possible that after you stop taking these drugs, aplastic anemia may return.
Bone marrow stimulants
Certain drugs — including colony-stimulating factors, such as sargramostim (Leukine), filgrastim (Neupogen) and pegfilgrastim (Neulasta), and epoetin alfa (Epogen, Procrit) — may help stimulate the bone marrow to produce new blood cells. Growth factors are often used in combination with immune-suppressing drugs.
Antibiotics
Having aplastic anemia weakens your immune system. You have fewer white blood cells in circulation to fight off germs. This leaves you susceptible to infections.
At the first sign of infection, such as a fever, see your doctor. You don't want the infection to get worse, because it could prove life-threatening. If you have severe aplastic anemia, your doctor may give you antibiotics or antiviral medications to help prevent infections.
Lifestyle changes
You can't change the fact that you have had cancer. What you can change is how you live the rest of your life – making choices to help you stay healthy and feel as well as you can. This can be a time to look at your life in new ways. Maybe you are thinking about how to improve your health over the long term. Some people even start during cancer treatment.
Making healthier choices
For many people, a diagnosis of cancer helps them focus on their health in ways they may not have thought much about in the past. Are there things you could do that might make you healthier? Maybe you could try to eat better or get more exercise. Maybe you could cut down on the alcohol, or give up tobacco. Even things like keeping your stress level under control may help. Now is a good time to think about making changes that can have positive effects for the rest of your life. You will feel better and you will also be healthier.
Eating better
If treatment caused weight changes or eating or taste problems, do the best you can and keep in mind that these problems usually get better over time. You may find it helps to eat small portions every 2 to 3 hours until you feel better. You may also want to ask your cancer team about seeing a dietitian, an expert in nutrition who can give you ideas on how to deal with these treatment side effects.
One of the best things you can do after cancer treatment is put healthy eating habits into place. You may be surprised at the long-term benefits of some simple changes, like increasing the variety of healthy foods you eat. Getting to and staying at a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet, and limiting your alcohol intake may lower your risk for a number of types of cancer, as well as having many other health benefits.
Rest, fatigue, and exercise
Extreme tiredness, called fatigue, is very common in people treated for cancer. This is not a normal tiredness, but a "bone-weary" exhaustion that doesn't get better with rest. For some people, fatigue lasts a long time after treatment, and can make it hard for them to exercise and do other things they want to do. But exercise can help reduce fatigue. Studies have shown that patients who follow an exercise program tailored to their personal needs feel better physically and emotionally and can cope better, too.
If you were sick and not very active during treatment, it is normal for your fitness, endurance, and muscle strength to decline. Any plan for physical activity should fit your own situation. An older person who has never exercised will not be able to take on the same amount of exercise as a 20-year-old who plays tennis twice a week. If you haven't exercised in a few years, you will have to start slowly – maybe just by taking short walks.
Keep in mind exercise can improve your physical and emotional health.
- It improves your cardiovascular (heart and circulation) fitness.
- Along with a good diet, it will help you get to and stay at a healthy weight.
- It makes your muscles stronger.
- It reduces fatigue and helps you have more energy.
- It can help lower anxiety and depression.
- It can make you feel happier.
- It helps you feel better about yourself.
.jpg)