MDS Syndrome – The Truth About the Disease

One of the least known cancer forms is called Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS). This is also formerly known as ‘pre-leukemia’ but not anymore because the term is misleading.

With MDS, the bone marrow is hyperactive but does not produce the normal number of healthy blood cells in the bloodstream. When the disorder in the production of blood cells continued, the different types of blood cells will have an abnormal count and the bone marrow will begin to deteriorate. The MDS patient will have low or high amount of any or all of these blood cells (red, white, and platelet).

How MDS Affects the Blood

MDS or Myelodysplastic Syndromes, formerly known as pre-leukemia, are defined as a group of diseases in which the production of all types of blood cells is disrupted. The body of the person with MDS is no longer producing enough number of normal and healthy red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets.

The bone marrow normally produces ‘blasts’ or unformed cells that naturally form into red or white red blood cells or platelets. But the bone marrow of MDS patients produces blasts in abnormally large number but only a few blood cells develop properly.

MDS Treatment Options

MDS or myelodysplastic syndromes are a grouping of cancer afflictions that target the white & red blood cells as well as the bone marrow. MDS can develop into leukemia if not diagnosed or controlled early enough. There are types of MDS that are easy to manage and mild, while others can be life-threatening.

Experts in the field are trying their best in finding a cure for MDS; however there are a variety of treatments patients can choose from. There are also a lot of things people can do to help raise awareness and funds for MDS and other fatal types of cancer.

What is MDS?

A lot of people are somewhat familiar with different types of cancer like leukemia or MDS; however very few truly know what the causes for these illnesses are, or what treatment options are available. It is therefore very beneficial to have a clear-cut view of what myleodysplastic syndromes really are, before asking further questions regarding the subject. 

MDS are a combined constitution of different hematological conditions that are integrated when there is an absence of adequate amounts of red and white blood cells in the body. MDS results from the bone marrow stem cell, causing a disorderly production of blood cells in the bloodstream. For many years this fatal form of cancer has commonly been called as pre leukemia because it almost always leads to the development of leukemia, which is the cancer of the blood.