Introduction:
Anemia refers to the deficiency in the amount of oxygen-carrying hemoglobin in the red blood cells. It is common in people suffering from Cancer and often results from the therapies used to suppress or control tumors. The different types of Anemia are:
1. Iron deficiency due to iron loss.
2. Anemia of deficiencies from vitamin B12, folic acid deficiency and copper deficiencies.
3. Production problems with anemia usually secondary to a disease process, as (a) chronic or acute infections or inflammation,(b) hematologic problems such as leukemia, lymphoma, usually involving the bone marrow, (c) cancer, (d) inflammatory diseases such as lupus or arthritis, or (e) chronic illness.
4. Hemoloysis
Symptoms:
The Symptoms of Anemia include Fatigue, Disability to perform daily functionsHeadache, Chest pain and shortness of breath, nausea, depression and occasionally pain.
Causes of Anemia:
Blood loss: excessive bleeding such as hemorrhages or abnormal menstrual bleeding
Chronic illness secondary to refractory anemia: inflammatory GI/GU diseases, malignancies (cancer), arthritis, kidney or liver failure, and acute and chronic infections
Cancer therapy: surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and/or immunotherapy
Infiltration (replacement) of bone marrow with cancer
Hemolysis: Breakdown or destruction of red blood cells
Decreased red cell production due to low levels of erythropoietin (a hormone produced by the kidney {90%} and liver {10%}) which promotes red blood cell production
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