Leukaemia Cancer Insurance

A blood cancer called leukaemia is characterised by the rapid development of aberrant blood cells. The bone marrow, where most of your body's blood is produced, is where this excessive growth occurs. White blood cells that are premature or still growing are typically leukaemia cells. The Greek roots for white (leukos) and blood (haima) are where the word "leukaemia" originates.

Leukaemia typically doesn't create a mass (tumour) that may be seen in imaging studies like X-rays or Computed Tomography, which can be used to detect other cancers. Leukaemia can have many different forms. While some are more prevalent in youngsters, others are more prevalent in adults. The type of leukaemia and other variables affect the course of treatment.
Now that we know what leukaemia is let us look into the types of leukaemia.

Knowing the types of leukaemia can help you better understand the disease and what it could entail. If you or a loved one has leukaemia, equipping yourself with the right knowledge can help you greatly. Thus, to help you better understand the disease, we will discuss the different types of leukaemia and what you can expect from them.

• Acute Leukaemia- The leukaemia cells divide swiftly, and the illness advances aggressively. In a few weeks of the leukaemia cells developing, you will begin to feel unwell if you have acute leukaemia. Acute leukaemia is a serious condition that needs to be treated very away. Acute leukaemia makes up the largest proportion of cancers found in younger people.

• Chronic Leukaemia- These leukaemia cells frequently exhibit both immature and adult blood cell behaviours. Some cells mature to the degree where they perform the intended functions, although not to the degree as their healthy counterparts. Compared to acute leukaemia, the disease normally deteriorates gradually. You could go years without experiencing any symptoms if you have chronic leukaemia. Compared to children, adults are more likely to develop chronic leukaemia.

• Myelogenous Leukaemia- Myeloid cells give rise to myelogenous leukaemia, often known as myeloid leukaemia. White blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets are produced by healthy myeloid cells, and this function is not carried out by the cells when cancer invades it.

• Lymphocytic Leukaemia- It starts from lymphoid cells. Normal lymphoid cells mature to form white blood cells, which play a crucial role in your body's immune function.

• ALL- The most prevalent form of leukaemia in children, teenagers, and younger adults until 39 is acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL). ALL can impact anyone over the age of 18.

• AML- The most prevalent form of acute leukaemia in adults is acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML). Older people are more susceptible to it (those over 65). However, AML can also affect youngsters.

• CLL- The most prevalent chronic leukaemia in individuals is chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). With CLL, complications may take years to manifest.

• CML- Adults of all ages can develop chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML), but older adults are more likely to get it. Children hardly ever experience it. With CML, symptoms could not show up for several years.

There are different stages of leukaemia, and each stage will demand a different pathway of treatment and medication. It is always preferable for any cancer to be diagnosed in the earlier stages as it improves the prognosis significantly.

The different stages of leukaemia are given below.

• Stage 0- A patient in stage 0 has elevated white blood cell counts but no other medical signs.
• Stage 1 - The patient has swollen lymph nodes, and elevated white blood cell counts.
• Stage 2- The patient is anaemic and has elevated white blood cell counts. Additionally, they can have swollen lymph nodes.
• Stage 3: The patient is anaemic and has elevated white blood cell counts. Additionally, they might have swollen lymph nodes, spleen or liver.
• Stage 4: The patient has insufficient platelets and high quantities of white blood cells. They might also develop a swollen liver or spleen, lymph nodes, and anaemia.

The precise causes of leukaemia cancer are unknown to researchers. It appears to be the result of both hereditary and environmental influences. Leukaemia is typically assumed to develop when certain blood cells have alterations (mutations) in the DNA or genetic makeup. The directions that inform a cell what it must do are encoded in its DNA. The DNA often instructs the cell to develop at a set frequency and to expire at a specific time. The blood cells in leukaemia are instructed to keep growing and dividing by the mutations.

Blood cell proliferation then becomes uncontrollable. These aberrant blood cells bring leukaemia indications and signals, pushing away healthy blood cells in the bone marrow and reducing the number of normal red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

However, barring these causes, some risk factors could lead to disease development. Some risk factors that could lead to leukaemia have been given below.

• Prior cancer therapy- The probability that you'll get some types of leukaemia may increase if you've already undergone radiation or chemotherapy for cancer.
• Smoking- You run a higher risk of getting acute myelogenous leukaemia if you've ever smoked or have been among people who do.
• Toxic Chemical Exposure- Chemicals known to cause cancer like formaldehyde and benzene are present in many household products and construction materials. Plastics, polymers, dyes, insecticides, pharmaceuticals, and detergents are all made from benzene. Building supplies and housewares contain formaldehyde, including soaps, shampoos, and cleaning supplies.
• Specific Genetic Ailments- Your risk may be increased by genetic conditions such as neurofibromatosis, Down syndrome, Schwachman-Diamond syndrome, and Klinefelter syndrome.
• Leukaemia Running in the Family- According to research, certain types of leukaemia can be genetic. However, in most circumstances, having a family member with leukaemia does not guarantee that either you or another member of your family will also get the disease. Let your doctor know whether you or a member of your family suffers from a genetic disorder. In order to determine your risk, they might advise genetic testing.

Understanding the symptoms of a disease is among the most effective ways of making a diagnosis and getting the required help in time. If you know what to look out for, then you will be more careful when you notice symptoms developing. It would also greatly help if you could tell your doctor what your problems are.

Below are some symptoms you should look out for where leukaemia is concerned.

• Repeated infections
• Tiredness
• Nausea
• Breathlessness
• Pain in joints and bones
• Seizures
• Loss of weight
• Sleeplessness
• Excessive sweating, especially at night
• Enlarged lymph nodes
• Enlarged spleen and liver
• Pale skin
• Easily bruising or bleeding
• Dark rashes on the body

Diagnosing any disease is not easy. However, with modern science, imaging and blood tests are way more advanced than they used to be before. Doctors will almost always start with a personal history. They will ask you about the symptoms you have been having, your personal medical history and family medical history. They will also ask you different questions based on what they think you may be suffering from.

Once doctors get a vague idea about what is going on with you, they may ask you to undergo any of the following tests given below.

• Physical Examination: Your doctor will inquire about your symptoms in detail and check your body for inflamed lymph nodes, an enlarged spleen, or a swollen liver. Additionally, they might look for bruising and swelling in the gums. They might search for a leukaemia-related skin rash that can be red, purple, or brown.
• Complete Blood Count (CBC): It shows whether you have abnormally high or low quantities of platelets, red blood cells, or white blood cells. White blood cell levels are likely higher than usual if you have leukaemia.
• Examining Blood Cells: Your doctor may collect more blood samples to look for signs of leukaemia, such as certain types of leukaemia or indicators that show the existence of leukaemia cells.
• Bone Marrow Biopsy: If you display an elevated white blood cell level, your doctor may conduct a bone marrow biopsy. During the process, fluid is drawn out of your bone marrow using a long needle implanted (often in the pelvic bone). Leukaemia cells are examined in a lab using the fluid sample. When leukaemia is suspected, a bone marrow biopsy can assist in determining the proportion of aberrant cells in the bone marrow.
• Imaging: If your symptoms suggest leukaemia has harmed the bones, arteries, or tissue, your doctor may recommend a pulmonary X-ray, Computed tomography, or MRI scan. This only helps in seeing how far cancer has spread and not the extent of the disease itself, given that leukaemia cells can not be seen in these tests.
• Spinal Tap: A lumbar puncture, also known as a spinal tap, is a procedure where a sample of spinal fluid is taken and tested to determine whether the leukaemia has progressed to the spinal fluid around your spine and brain.

Every disease has a different way in which it is treated. When it comes to a disease like cancer, the course of treatment is much more different than what it is for any other disease. When it comes to cancer, most doctors prefer to go the surgery route as far as possible to ensure that they can remove the entire thing from the source. However, surgery is not an option when discussing cancer, like blood cancer. Thus, doctors need to take other approaches to deal with the disease.

• Hematopoietic cell transplantation: This therapy substitutes fresh, healthy hematopoietic cells for the malignant blood-forming cells that chemotherapy and radiation therapy have destroyed. Before chemo and radiation, your healthcare professional may take these viable cells from your bloodstream or bone marrow, or they could come via a donor. Your body requires white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets, created when healthy new cells grow and make new bone marrow and blood cells.
• Immunotherapy: This treatment boosts your body's immune system to combat leukaemia by using certain medications. Your immune system can better recognise cancer cells and make other immune cells to combat them with immunotherapy.
• Radiation therapy: This therapy uses X-rays or powerful radiation beams to kill or inhibit the growth of leukaemia cells. A machine uses radiation to either cover your entire body with radiation during therapy or precisely target the locations in your anatomy wherever the cancer cells are.
• Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy: It is a cutting-edge treatment that modifies your body's natural immune cells to fight infections before reintroducing them to attack leukaemia cells.
• Chemotherapy: The most popular method of treating leukaemia is chemotherapy. It entails using chemicals to eradicate leukaemia cells or prevent their regrowth. You might be given the drugs (medicine) intravenously, as a shot beneath your skin, or as a pill during treatment. You'll often receive a cocktail of chemotherapy medications.
• Targeted therapy: This treatment uses medications that specifically target the leukaemia cell's genes or proteins that create them to outnumber healthy blood cells. Targeted treatments may stop leukaemia cells from proliferating, cut off their blood supply, or directly destroy the cells. Targeted therapy has a lower risk of damaging healthy cells. Drugs used in targeted therapy include tyrosine kinase inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies.

There is no particular way in which one can prevent the onset of leukaemia. Doctors and researchers have been studying the disease for many years and have still not been able to pinpoint certain measures that could prevent the onset of the disease. While there may not be much you can do, there are still some steps you can follow to keep the disease at bay as far as possible.

• Maintain a healthy weight
• Do not consume too much junk food
• Be mindful of family members having the disease. If the disease is prevalent in your family, go to the doctor and talk about genetic testing
• Exercise regularly
• Keep your immunity up
• Stay away from the substances that can cause the disease
• Quit smoking
• Reduce alcohol intake
• Stay fit and active

Some people may wonder why critical illness insurance may be necessary. The answer to this is fairly simple. A health insurance policy can provide stability even though health is variable.

Some reasons health insurance with leukaemia cancer coverage can be helpful are;

Expenses-The cost of treatment for leukaemia is very high, making it hard for people from all spheres of life to access it. However, with insurance, treatment and care become available to all regardless of who they are or how much they have set aside for treatments.

Peace of Mind- Health insurance for leukaemia cancer patients makes them feel at ease knowing that the insurance provider is considering the cost of care. All they need to think about is getting better and making a full recovery.

Emergencies- When a person is afflicted with a condition like leukaemia, they could need sudden medical care at any given time. However, they may not be prepared for such an expense. But with a health insurance policy, patients and their loved ones no longer need to worry about this. They can be prepared for anything at any given time.

Tax Benefits- When you buy insurance for yourself and your loved ones, you do not only secure your and their health, but you also secure your wealth. Health insurance comes with tax exemptions. In regular cases, you can get an exemption of ₹25,000, and in cases of senior citizens, this amount goes up to ₹50,000.

If you wish to buy Tata AIG’s health insurance policy or critical illness insurance, you can do so online and offline. How you can buy the plans using either method is enumerated below.

Online- To buy our plans online, you need to;

• Visit the AIG website to select the right plan for yourself or your family.
• Choose if you want to purchase the insurance for yourself/your spouse/your children/your parents.
• Once you settle on the insured, click on ‘Get Plan’.
• Provide the important information, including your mobile number, date of birth, and email ID, and Tata AIG will then show the different choices that could be suitable for you.
• Choose the sum insured from the drop-down to view the premium amount.
• You can compare the plans to determine what fits you best.
• Select the plan you wish to purchase and click on ‘Buy Now’.
• Someone from our team will contact you and help you with your purchase.

This concludes the process, and if everything is in place, you will have your policy in hand in a few minutes.

Offline- To buy your plan offline, you need to;

• Use our branch locator to find an AIG office that is convenient for you to go to
• Go there and approach the counter.
• Mention that you wish to purchase health insurance.
• An agent will come to speak with you and explain the different options you have.
• When you have determined which plan you want, fill in the application form for the same.
• Attach the relevant documents.
• Submit it at the right counter.
• Pay the insurance fee.

Once your application is verified, you will have the policy in hand in a few days.

If you wish to buy Tata AIG’s health insurance policy or critical illness insurance, you can do so online and offline. How you can buy the plans using either method is enumerated below.

Online- To buy our plans online, you need to;

● Visit the AIG website to select the right plan for yourself or your family.
● Choose if you want to purchase the insurance for yourself/your spouse/your children/your parents.
● Once you settle on the insured, click on ‘Get Plan’.
● Provide the important information, including your mobile number, date of birth, and email ID, and Tata AIG will then show the different choices that could be suitable for you.
● Choose the sum insured from the drop-down to view the premium amount.
● You can compare the plans to determine what fits you best.
● Select the plan you wish to purchase and click on ‘Buy Now’.
● Someone from our team will contact you and help you with your purchase.

This concludes the process, and if everything is in place, you will have your policy in hand in a few minutes.

Offline- To buy your plan offline, you need to;

● Use our branch locator to find an AIG office that is convenient for you to go to
● Go there and approach the counter.
● Mention that you wish to purchase health insurance.
● An agent will come to speak with you and explain the different options you have.
● When you have determined which plan you want, fill in the application form for the same.
● Attach the relevant documents.
● Submit it at the right counter.
● Pay the insurance fee.

Once your application is verified, you will have the policy in hand in a few days.

If you wish to buy insurance from Tata AIG, you will need to furnish the following documents;

• ID proof
• Age proof
• Residence proof
• Income proof
• Recent coloured passport size photographs
• Any other document relating to your health history