Rishi Kapoor loses his life to bone marrow cancer: Know all about this condition

67-year-old Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor breathes his last after fighting bone marrow cancer from 2018. Here's a low-down on this condition.

Veteran Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor passed away today after being admitted to the HN Reliance Hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday morning. He had to be hospitalized because of deteriorating health condition and breathing issues. 67-year-old Rishi Kapoor, who has been fighting cancer since 2018, was in the US for about a year for his treatment. He returned to India from New York in September last year. Though Rishi Kapoor and his family didn't disclose about his diagnosis and treatment in the beginning, they confirmed that it was bone marrow cancer months later. Here is all you need to know about this condition.

What is bone marrow cancer?

Your bones harbour a sponge-like material known as marrow. It houses stem cells, which can convert into red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. You get bone marrow cancer when cells in the marrow grow abnormally or at an accelerated pace. This type of cancer is not known as bone cancer. There are three types of this cancer: Multiple myeloma, lukemia, and lymphoma. While myeloma involves the plasma cells, lukemia involves the white blood cells. Lymphoma, on the other hand, originates in the bone marrow.

Symptoms of bone marrow cancer

The symptoms of this condition depend on the type of bone marrow cancer you are suffering from. Myeloma manifests itself through weakness and fatigue ( due to shortage of red blood cells), bleeding and bruising (due to low blood platelets thrombocytopenia) and recurrent infections (due to shortage of normal white blood cells). A person suffering from lukemia experiences fever and chills, weakness and fatigue, unexplained weight loss, swollen lymph nodes, enlarged liver or spleen, etc. The symptoms of lymphoma include swelling in the neck, underarm, arm, leg, or groin, enlarged lymph nodes, nerve pain, numbness, tingling, feeling of fullness in the stomach and unexplained weight loss.

What causes this cancer

Though oncologists are yet to identify a cause behind bone marrow cancer, there are many factors that can lead to or at least make you vulnerable to this condition. The triggers may range from environmental toxins to atomic radiation and genetic predisposition to viruses like HIV and hepatitis and suppressed immune system.

How is it diagnosed?

There is a battery of tests for bone marrow cancer. They include blood tests (complete blood count, chemistry profile, and tumor markers), urine tests, imaging studies such as MRI, CT, PET, and X-ray. Your physician may also suggest a biopsy of the bone marrow or enlarged lymph node.

Treatment for bone marrow cancer

The method of treatment depends upon the type of bone marrow cancer one is suffering from. The commonly applied therapies include chemotherapy, biological therapy, targeted therapy drugs, radiation therapy, and bone marrow transplant.