It can be confusing hearing lots of new and unfamiliar medical terms. Use our glossary for help in understanding more about MPNs. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) Also known as acute myelogenous leukaemia or acute non- lymphocytic leukemia. A quickly progressive malignant disease in which there are too many immature blood forming cells in the blood…
What is polycythaemia vera (PV)? People with polycythaemia vera (PV) produce more red blood cells than normal. PV may also affect the production of your other blood cells, for example your body may also produce too many platelets and white blood cells. Recent research shows that nearly 97% of people with PV have a mutation…
In this video, Albert talks about how he was diagnosed with myelofibrosis and how it’s affected his life. Albert took a new drug which at the time of filming was under trial to treat myelofibrosis. This drug is a JAK2 inhibitor called Ruxolitinib. Albert was very pleased with how he responded on the new medication.…
ET is a rare bold cancer which causes the body to produce too many platelets. What is essential thrombocythaemia? Patients with essential thrombocythaemia (ET) have an elevated platelet count; their blood contains too many platelets. The high number of platelets causes blood to be ‘‘sticky’’, so people with ET have a high risk of clotting…
Full blood count reports can be confusing. It helps to understand the terms. People with MPNs are sometimes baffled by the numbers they see on full blood count (FBC or sometimes known as CBC) reports. Haematologists use the FBCto keep track of your blood condition and to make treatment decisions. The FBC helps to show…
Many people with MPNs wonder what causes these blood cancers. Some researchers believe that viral infections, exposure to toxins, exposure to radiation or something else may cause myeloproliferative neoplasms by causing a change in the genetic code of the bone marrow cells. Unfortunately current research still does not offer any proof as to what causes…
MPNs are rare blood cancers that affect how blood cells are produced in our bodies. Our bodies normally produce billions of blood cells every day. This process occurs inside our bones, in the bone marrow. The bone marrow contains stem cells which grow and mature into all the blood cells that our bodies need: Red…