Page 174 - GSTL_21st May 2020_Vol 36_Part 3

420 GST LAW TIMES [ Vol. 36
(iii) Stage 3 : In the blood cancer 3rd Stage, anaemia develops in
the third stage and above-mentioned organs are still found
enlarged. It is sure that more than two organs get affected in
this stage.
(iv) Stage 4 : The blood cancer 4th Stage is the last stage with the
highest risk ratio. The rate of blood platelets starts falling rap-
idly. The cancerous cells start affecting the lungs including
the other organs which already started getting affected in the
earlier stages. Anaemia, in this stage, is more likely to be
acute.
(h) Treatment for blood cancer depends on the type of cancer, the pa-
tient’s age, how fast the cancer is progressing, where the cancer has
spread and other factors. While some of these treatments offer the
opportunity to control or cure blood cancer, many of them are asso-
ciated with shorter and longer term side effects. Some common
blood cancer treatments include :
(i) Intensive treatment/high intensity treatment : Intensive
treatment means strong treatments and for blood cancer, this
often means using strong drugs to try and kill cancer cells or
stop them from spreading. The main types of intensive
treatment for blood cancer are :
(a) Standard dose or high dose chemotherapy : using
cell-killing drugs with the aim of killing cancerous
cells and stopping them from multiplying;
(b) Stem-cell transplant : having high doses of chemo-
therapy to kill the abnormal cells in your bone mar-
row or lymph nodes, then receiving new blood stem
cells (either your own or from a donor), through a
drip. The aim is for these new stem cells to start pro-
ducing healthy blood cells;
(c) Some types of biological therapy/immunotherapies/
monoclonal antibodies : drugs that encourage the pa-
tient’s immune system to fight cancerous cells;
(d) Radiotherapy : using high energy rays to kill cancer
cells in a particular area (mostly to treat lymphoma);
(e) Surgery : rarely, the patient may be offered a splenec-
tomy (removing of spleen).
(ii) Non-intensive/low intensity treatment : Non-intensive
treatments such as lower-dose chemotherapy are usually gen-
tler and cause fewer side effects. In most cases, these treat-
ments wont cure the cancer but they may help to keep the
person in remission or manage his symptoms for a good
length of time. These gentler treatments may be used over a
longer period of time to keep cancer under control. Types of
lower intensity treatment for blood cancer include :

GST LAW TIMES  21st May 2020  174