Hematology clinics provide treatment and research for blood disorders and cancers, such as sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, lymphoma, leukemia, and myeloma. Specialists perform tests and offer treatment options, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, stem cell treatment, and clotting factor injections. Collaboration between specialists can improve patient outcomes.
Hematology clinics are treatment centers for blood disorders. Blood, a body tissue, is affected by abnormalities such as sickle cell anemia and cancers such as leukemia. Hematology clinics give patients access to specialists and the treatment options they need in one convenient location. Having a centralized location allows doctors to work together to find the most effective treatments for patients.
Many diseases affect the blood, a tissue made up of red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma and a small amount of the connective tissue protein called fibrinogen. Like all bodily tissue, it is susceptible to certain ailments and diseases. One blood disorder is hemophilia, a condition in which blood cannot clot properly. There is no cure; clotting factor injections are the only known treatment. Sickle cell anemia is another disorder in which the body produces abnormally shaped red blood cells. Like haemophilia there is no cure; however, there are various methods to manage the disorder.
Three cancers also affect the blood: lymphoma, leukemia and myeloma. These tumors develop due to the rapid proliferation of cells that make up the blood. Although these cancers affect the blood, each has its own set of symptoms and treatment options. One similarity between them, however, is that their presence suppresses the immune system, and survival largely depends on the stage of the cancer at the time of diagnosis.
Hematology clinics treat and research these disorders and cancers that affect the blood. In a large hospital, a hematology clinic is usually an annex or includes a number of offices. Most patients who come to these clinics have general practitioners working in the same hospital. Regardless of the location of the hematology clinics, they will generally receive patients from physicians in the nearby geographic area.
Once a patient is referred to a hematology clinic by their primary care physician, specialists will perform a series of tests to determine the exact nature of the disorder. These tests will also be needed if a patient has a diagnosis before entering the clinic. After these tests, a patient will talk to one or more specialists about the disorder, its progression, and possible treatment options.
Treatment for blood diseases and blood cancers also takes place in hematology clinics. These treatments include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, stem cell treatment, and clotting factor injections. Surgery to remove lymphoma, for example, may be needed in a nearby or adjacent hospital.
One of the benefits of hematology clinics is that by having specialists working together, their collaboration can produce positive effects for patients. Having multiple specialists working on a single case can improve a patient’s chances of survival. Additionally, a physician may review the effectiveness of certain treatments on past patients under similar circumstances. Having easy access to this data can reveal a more appropriate treatment option.
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