The Hematology Society of Taiwan yesterday urged men over 60 who experience repeated dizziness, fatigue or bleeding of the gums to get tested for myelodysplastic syndrome, a blood disorder considered one step away from leukemia.
As an example, the group said a 63-year-old taxi driver surnamed Kao (高) felt constant dizziness and anemia, but did not pursue medical care until the conditions led to several traffic accidents.
“Kao was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a set of disorders in which bone marrow does not produce enough healthy blood cells and which is a prelude to acute myeloid leukemia,” the group said.
Kao recovered after a hematopoietic stem cell transplant, it said.
The group advises people aged 60 and up, particularly men, against thinking that aging or overwork is behind dizziness, feebleness, fatigue, fever and abnormal bruising or bleeding gums.
“Those with these conditions should get screened for the blood disorder via a blood test, chromosome examination and bone marrow biopsy,” it said.
Hematology Society of Taiwan Secretary-General Chou Wen-chien (周文堅), an attending physician at the National Taiwan University Hospital Department of Laboratory Medicine, said that while the disorder is most prevalent among middle-aged and elderly people, there are also cases involving children or young adults.
“However, as the disease is sometimes asymptomatic in younger patients, they tend to seek medical attention only after they start experiencing severe abnormal bleeding and anemia. By then, their condition could have already developed into cancer,” Chou said.
According to statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control, of the 1,864 people diagnosed with leukemia-related diseases in 2011, 225 had myelodysplastic syndrome, while 47 were people in whom the syndrome had developed into acute myeloid leukemia.
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