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Do You Experience Frequent Infections? It’s A Common Blood Cancer Symptom

Many blood cancers showcase common symptoms. Here an expert explains causes of a few of these early symptoms.

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Written By: Longjam Dineshwori | Updated: October 4, 2021, 3:02 PM

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Leukaemia

Leukaemia starts in the bone marrow or blood. When people have leukaemia, their bone marrow makes abnormal blood cells instead of normal ones. There are different types of leukaemia.

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Frequent Infections

Having any type of blood cancer can make you more susceptible to infections. White blood cells (WBCs) are the immune system's first line of defense against foreign invaders like viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Blood cancer cells can multiply and crowd out WBCs. When there aren't enough healthy WBCs, a person is at increased risk for infections. This is the reason why some blood cancer patients experience frequent infections as a symptom.  Also Read - Top 5 cosmetic surgery myths busted by plastic surgeon: Does it really look fake, hurt, or change your face?

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Fever Or Chills

Particularly lymphoma (especially non-Hodgkin) and leukemia are known to produce fevers, commonly accompanied by weight loss and fatigue. In fact, fever is seen as an early sign of these most common malignancies. So, if you have persistent fever, get yourself checked for blood cancer.

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Breathlessness

Red blood cells carry oxygen around the body. When your body doesn’t make enough of these cells, or they don’t do their jobs well, you can become anaemic. Anaemia can cause tiredness, breathlessness, and an unusually pale complexion.

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Night Sweats

Night sweats can also be an early indication of blood cancer, especially lymphoma and leukemia. This may happen as the body raises its temperature to fight off infections. The cancer cells also can trigger an inflammatory response in the body when your body tries to fight the cancer.  Also Read - ORS vs Coconut Water vs Energy Drinks: Which one actually rehydrates you best?

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Strong Medication

Strong opioid patches like the fentanyl patch. Neuropathic medications that primarily include drugs like gabapentin