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The Health Blog
Welcome to our look into the world health.
ASSESSMENT OF SPREAD THROUGH BLOODSTREAM – BLOOD TEST
It would be wonderful is we could tell by a simple blood test whether or not cancer cells have got into the bloodstream. You will remember from Chapter 2 that it is very rare to actually see cancer cells in a blood sample. There are never many of them in the blood at any one time except in leukaemia and some cases of lymphoma and myeloma. The chances of seeing cancer cells in the tiny drop of blood that is looked at under the microscope is minute. Because it is so hard to ‘catch them in the act’, the usual way of finding out that cancer cells have been in the blood is by finding the resulting secondary deposits.
Most of the tests that we use are only capable of picking up cancer deposits that are more than about 1cm across. You might remember from Chapter 2 that cancer cells can go through the blood, lodge somewhere in the body and lie dormant there for a long time. These tiny dormant seedlings are made up of only a few cells and cannot be detected by currently available tests. We only find out later that these cells have been there—when they activate and grow into a deposit that can be detected. If your doctor tells you that your tests are clear and no secondary growths have been found, this is certainly good news. However, it is not a cast-iron guarantee that there will be no trouble in the future. The danger period during which dormant seedlings can activate is different for different types of cancer, ranging from as little as twelve months to as much as twenty or more years. Ask your doctor how long it is for your particular type of cancer.
*96/40/1*
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