Leukemia: What should patients be aware of after diagnosis? | Norton Cancer Institute

Don A. Stevens, M.D., Medical Oncologist at Norton Healthcare, explains what patients should expect after being diagnosed with leukemia, a blood cancer.

Well the first thing that I tell folks with any serious illness, whether it's cancer or anything you want to be sure about the diagnosis and then you want to make absolutely sure that the diagnosis has been defined in the absolute up-to-date way.

I mean, we work very closely with our hematopathology group here at Norton's. We're blessed to have three fellowship trained hematopathologists. As a blood cancer doctor I rely on them many times a day. I mean, we have to have the most accurate diagnosis so I would tell someone newly diagnosed with leukemia that being certain not only that you have, you know, the correct general diagnosis but that everything has been done to define your leukemia because that is becoming increasingly important.

So, the very first step is a very precise, very thorough pathology examination. Then after that you want to get your care from someone that's experienced with leukemia. Leukemia is not, compared to breast cancer, leukemia is not a common illness, you know, where you know looking at all leukemias and all lymphomas are still a fraction of colon cancer or a fraction a breast cancer.

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