Blood Cancer

At MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, our board-certified hematologist oncologists specialize in diseases of the blood and plasma, including:

• Acute and chronic leukemias.
• Hodgkin lymphoma.
• Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
• Multiple myeloma.
• Cutaneous lymphoma.
• Myelodysplastic syndromes and myeloproliferative neoplasms.

At Hollings, you will have access to potentially lifesaving and disease-altering resources and care. Our sophisticated radiation oncology therapies, immunotherapy programs, quality blood and marrow transplant (BMT) program and clinical trials led by our physician-scientists allow our providers to tailor treatment to your needs.

What are blood and lymphatic cancers? | Symptoms | Treatment | Care Locations | Risk Factors | Latest News

What are blood and lymphatic cancers?

Your circulatory system and lymphatic system work together to bring oxygen and nutrients to organs, remove waste and fight infection.

Your blood contains red blood cells that carry oxygen into the body and carbon dioxide out of the body; white blood cells that fight infection; platelets that clot when you are cut; and plasma, which accounts for just over half of the contents of your blood. Lymph, or lymphatic fluid, collects any remaining waste that wasn’t picked up by the circulatory system.

Sometimes, something goes wrong in the production of blood or lymphatic cells. Abnormal, cancerous cells begin to accumulate and crowd out normal, healthy cells. Depending on where they start, these cancerous cells may form leukemia, lymphoma or multiple myeloma. Understanding the specific type of blood cancer that you have will determine your treatment options.

Blood cancer symptoms

Leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and other blood diseases often don’t have signs or symptoms at first. When you do have symptoms, they are often the same as symptoms for more common conditions, like the flu or an infection. Some of the symptoms in common across these conditions include:

• Fever
• Fatigue
• Weight loss without trying
• Night sweats
• Decreased appetite
• Easy bleeding or bruising
• Swollen lymph nodes

For information about symptoms specific to each type of blood or lymphatic cancer, visit the leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma pages.

Blood cancer treatment

Hollings has a proud history of treating people with blood and lymphatic cancers. Even before the cancer center was formed, our founding oncologist, Robert Stuart, M.D., performed the first bone marrow transplant in South Carolina in 1987. Since then, our researchers and doctors have continued to collaborate to improve treatment for these cancers.

Treatment for blood cancers can include:

• Watchful waiting.
• Chemotherapy.
• Blood and marrow transplant (BMT).
• Immunotherapy, including CAR-T cell therapy.
• Targeted therapy.
• Radiation therapy.

Specialized services for blood and lymphatic cancer

• HOPE Unit. The Hematologic Oncologic Protective Environment unit on the 7th floor of MUSC Health’s Ashley River Tower is a technologically advanced inpatient unit designed for immunocompromised patients that uses the same sophisticated HEPA filtration system found in operating rooms.
• Total Skin Electron Beam Therapy. Hollings is the only cancer center in South Carolina to offer total skin electron beam therapy, a highly specialized form of radiation therapy, for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.
• Charleston Hope Lodge. The American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge, which provides free housing for patients and a companion, is located one block from Hollings.

Refer a blood cancer patient

To refer a blood cancer patient to Hollings, please call patient referral coordinator Debra Oree at 843-985-0567.

Nurse navigator support

Our blood and lymphatic cancer nurse navigators, Bonnie Boyce, BSN, RN, OCN, and Katie Fitzmaurice, RN, BSN, CPN, will help you understand what to expect during treatment and answer questions you may have.

Blood cancer risk factors

Leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and other blood and lymphatic cancers can occur in anyone. Most of the risk factors for these conditions aren’t things that you can change. However, Hollings always encourages healthy behaviors, like maintaining a healthy weight, eating a healthy diet filled with vegetables and fruit, exercising, and not smoking or stopping smoking. These lifestyle factors can reduce your risk of many types of cancer and can help you to be in better condition going into treatment if you should be diagnosed with cancer.

Some of the blood cancer risk factors include:

• Age. The risk of blood cancers generally goes up with age. However, some blood cancers, like acute lymphoblastic leukemia, are found in children. Hodgkin lymphoma is most likely to be diagnosed in people over age 65 or in young adulthood.
• Sex. Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma and leukemia are somewhat more common among men than women.
• Smoking. Smoking has been linked to acute myeloid leukemia, one of the most common types of leukemia.
• Genetic disorders. Some genetic conditions have been linked to blood cancers. People with Down syndrome are at increased risk of leukemia. Li-Fraumeni syndrome is linked to several types of cancer, including acute myeloid leukemia. Hollings has a Hereditary Cancer Clinic that can help people with hereditary risk factors (mutations inherited from your parents) to manage their risk.
• Previous chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Being treated for a previous cancer with certain chemotherapy drugs or with radiation can increase the chance of leukemia.

Latest blood cancer news