Bone Marrow
What
is bone marrow?
Bone marrow is a soft fatty tissue found in
the inside of the body's bones - such as the sternum
(middle of the chest), pelvis (hip bone), and femur (thigh bone). Fibrous
tissue in the marrow
supports stem cells, which are large "primitive" undifferentiated cells.
As needed, the stem cells
differentiate to become a particular kind of cell - a white blood cell (WBC),
red blood cell (RBC), or
platelet. Only mature cells are normally released from the marrow into the
blood stream. Any
disease or condition that causes an abnormality in the production of any
of the mature blood cells
or their precursors (immature forms) can cause a bone marrow disorder. In
some bones, the bone
marrow consists only of fat. Other bones contain what is termed cellular
marrow. The cellular
marrow has different types of cells that give rise to red cells, white
cells and platelets for our
blood. The marrow may also contain abnormal cells, proteins, or
inflammatory processed that are
not normally present, such as cancer cells. Since the production of red
cells requires iron, the
marrow is one of the places in the body that normally stores a supply of
iron.
Bone marrow
transplantation: Bone
marrow transplantation (BMT) or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
(HSCT) is a medical
procedure in the field of hematology and oncology that involves
transplantation of hematopoietic
stem cells (HSC). It is most often performed for people with diseases of
the blood or bone marrow,
or certain types of cancer. HSC are infused into the blood stream of the
recipient through an
intravenous (i.v.) catheter, like any other i.v. fluid. The HSC briefly
circulate in the blood stream
and then home into the bone marrow spaces where they grow and start to
produce blood cells.
After several weeks of growth in the bone marrow, expansion of HSC and
their progeny is
sufficient to normalize the blood cell counts and alleviate the need for
RBC and platelet
transfusions. Our skull, sternum, ribs, pelvis, and femur bones all
contain bone marrow, but other
smaller bones do not. Inside this special tissue, immature stems cells
reside, along with extra iron.
While they are undifferentiated, the stem cells wait until unhealthy,
weakened, or damaged cells
need to be replaced. A stem cell can turn itself into a platelet, a white
blood cell like a T-cell, or a
red blood cell. This is the only way such cells get replaced to keep our
body healthy.
What is “Cancer” Insurance?
Cancer insurance provides
benefits only if you get cancer. If yes, then Cancer policies sold today
vary widely in cost and coverage. If you decide to purchase a cancer
insurance policy, contact
different companies and agents, and compare the policies before you buy.
Cancer insurance is
sometimes referred to as a specified disease or dreaded disease policy.
It is also necessary if you
are considering the purchase of cancer insurance or other specified
disease type coverage, it is a
good idea to carefully review your current health insurance policies.
Before going for cancer
insurance you should make it clear from agent or company that all
expenses will be covered by
policy or only hospital costs will be bared by cancer insurance policy.
Many cancer insurance
policies have fixed cost limits. Cancer insurance is not a substitute for
comprehensive coverage. |
