Supportive Care When Living With AML

AML is a type of leukemia that affects “young myeloid cells”. Normal myeloid cells grow into red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Abnormal, or mutated myeloid cells can produce quickly and overcrowd the bone marrow. Healthy cells can no longer grow. Patients will often feel symptoms such as fatigue, bruising, bone pain, frequent infections, nose bleeds and shortness of breath.

According to the American Cancer Society, around 20,000 people in the United States and 5 out of 100,000 people in Europe are affected by AML. There are no apparent causes for those who develop this disease, but there are a few common “risk factors”:

• Age- disease risk increases after the age of 65
• Sex- men are more likely to develop AML
• Previous cancer treatments
• Exposure to dangerous chemicals, such as benzene
• Smoking
• Certain genetic disorders

Supportive care for patients with AML is vital and “aims at addressing the patient’s physical, emotional, social, spiritual and information needs through the disease trajectory.” There are a broad range of interventions to address these issues. Throughout a cancer patient’s journey, significant supportive care is needed in many areas to help with symptoms and side effects:

• Diagnosis- pain, fatigue, weight loss, anxiety and stress
• Treatment- many adverse side effects
• Surgery- pain, daily physical maintenance
• Radiation- severe inflammation, chronic fibrosis
• Chemotherapy- anemia, pain, nausea, fatigue
• Post Therapy- concerns about relapse, complications from treatment

“​​To address the supportive care needs of patients and their families, multiple specialized supportive care services have been developed. Examples of these services are: palliative care, cancer pain clinics, psycho-oncology teams and treatment support services.” Dietitians, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, physicians, psychologists, and social workers are all available to assist a patient through their AML journey.

Supportive care services are continually evolving. Patients with cancer are living longer and their quality of life is important. “The goal of supportive care is to prevent or treat as early as possible the symptoms of a disease, side effects caused by treatment of a disease, and psychological, social, and spiritual problems related to a disease or its treatment. Also called comfort care, palliative care, and symptom management.”

It is important to communicate with your cancer care team. Work together to understand treatment options and their side effects. “The American Cancer Society also has programs and services – including rides to treatment, lodging, and more – to help you get through treatment. Call our National Cancer Information Center at 1-800-227-2345 and speak with one of our trained specialists.”

Learn more about supportive and palliative care by watching our Palliative Care HealthTree University Course taught by AML and palliative care doctor, Thomas LeBlanc.

Watch Here