How does anaemia in children and adults relate to any type of cancer?
Anaemia is also known as low haemoglobin level. It is a condition that occurs in people who lack enough healthy red blood cells to help carry oxygen to different body areas.
There can be various reasons why anaemia occurs, and sometimes, it can be the appearance of a haematological disease or the consequence of other types of diseases. For example, anaemia can be treatable, but in some cases, it can be fatal if not diagnosed early.
Anaemia is also known as low haemoglobin level. It is a condition that occurs in people who lack enough healthy red blood cells to help carry oxygen to different body areas.
There can be various reasons why anaemia occurs, and sometimes, it can be the appearance of a haematological disease or the consequence of other types of diseases. For example, anaemia can be treatable, but in some cases, it can be fatal if not diagnosed early.
Anaemia symptoms
When you have low haemoglobin, and the problem develops very slowly, you may not notice any symptoms. Although at this stage, signs such as:
- Tiredness with increased regularity or weakness
- Concentration problems
- Headache
- feeling dazed
- appetite lost
- increased irritability
- Numbness of the hands and feet
- Chest pain
- Pale skin
- Brittle nails and hair
Similarly, if the anaemia worsens, other symptoms may occur, such as:
- Dizziness when standing up
- Shortness of breath when doing a simple activity
- The blue colour in the sclera of the eyes
- Swollen or sore tongue
- Loss of sexual desire in men
- mouth ulcers
- Heavier or abnormal menstrual bleeding in women
Anaemia is an abnormality in red blood cells’ size, number, shape, or colour intensity.
Having anaemia can be synonymous with many diseases or simply a consequence of a low amount of iron or vitamins.
However, some symptoms can be vital in detecting cancer.
“Any cancer can cause anaemia because deep down, this tumour cell generates toxic molecules for the blood factory,”
Symptoms of possible anaemia due to cancer
- Bleeding when urinating.
- Bleeding in the stools.
- Black stools or darker than usual.
- Cough up blood.
- Extreme weight loss, up to 10% in just six months.
- Night sweats, to the point of having to change clothes.
- Unexplained fever that is, without the presence of infections.
- Bone pain that does not pass with analgesics, such as paracetamol.
In the presence of these symptoms, it is necessary to consult a general practitioner, who will carry out a series of tests before confirming the diagnosis.
Screening tests
- Physical examination and interview: First, the patient should be examined and their habits asked to know what tests to do according to their symptoms.
- Hemogram: It is a complete blood test which allows one to see the size of the red blood cells, their colour, shape, and quantity, among other things, being key to the detection of anaemia.
- Specific tests: Based on what is discovered through the physical examination and the doctor’s suspicions, tests can be carried out to see if there are any abnormalities in any specific part of the body.
In the case of bleeding, examinations of the areas believed to be failing are requested.
For example, if blood is discharged when defecating, a colonoscopy and endoscopy will likely be requested to rule out colon or stomach cancer.
Can anaemia be synonymous with any type of cancer?
According to the expert, any cancer can cause anaemia
This is why, after carrying out the tests, the general practitioner may refer the patient to a haematologist and another specialist related to the area to be investigated.
Also, you must consider that cancer treatments cause anaemia, so after diagnosis, you must be aware, at all times, of the evolution of the patient.
How can it be treated?
“Anemia can cause quite a few complexities in a patient’s daily life because they will not be able to carry out their daily activities. It will generate an incompatibility, a deterioration in their quality of life.”
The symptoms of anaemia require treatment to improve part of the patient’s discomfort and health problems.
In the case of a person with cancer, blood transfusions are the quickest solution since, in some cases, they tend to lose a lot of blood.
Finally, it should be noted that the faster anaemia is detected, the better, since what affects the patient could be treated early, thus avoiding other complexities.
