Dr. Ganesh Jaishetwar, Senior Hematologist and BMT Specialist hosted a Blood Cancer Survivor Meet at Yashoda Hospital Hyderabad in Siliguri to raise awareness about blood cancer and emphasize that successful treatment can lead to a normal life for patients. Event promotes support for blood cancer patients.
Blood cancer, also known as hematologic cancer, affects the blood, bone marrow, and lymphatic systems. It affects people of any age, gender, or race. In India, it accounts for 8.2% of all cancers and 5.5 cases per 1 lakh population. About 80,000 new blood cancers are diagnosed annually, with a death rate of 20 patients every 20 seconds.
“The theme of this year’s World Blood Cancer Day is, “Diagnosis Today. Curation Tomorrow”. Dr. Ganesh highlights advancements in research and treatment, revealing that in 2023, most blood cancers can be curable through chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and bone marrow transplants. Recent immunotherapies like CAR-T cells target specific blood cancer types, while bone marrow transplants improve for limited resources. Yashoda Hospital’s Department of Hematology & BMT has conducted over 300 successful BMTs in the last eight years. Dr. Ganesh believes, “Blood cancers are not the end of the road, in fact these are beginning of the new journey of hope and cure”.
