Dr. Rahul Bhargava Best Haemato Oncologist in India

Overview:

Blood is a connective tissue that transports nutrients and oxygen throughout the body and takes away the toxic metabolic waste away from the cells. Blood cancer is a type of malignancy that affects the blood, bone marrow and lymphatic tissue. Blood cancer affects the production and function of your blood cells. The function of a normal blood cell is interrupted by the uncontrolled growth and function of the cancerous cell. Blood cells also play their part in fighting against infections and preventing excessive bleeding.

Leukemia treatment in India will depend on what type of leukemia, the stage of the disease you are in and your age. Chemotherapy can affect the whole body, but targeted therapy is aimed at a specific part of the cancer cell. The blood cancer treatment India defers with the type of cancer and the way your physician and you feel comfortable in.

Sometimes it may happen that even though there is no sign of leukemia after the surgery, the disease may likely to come back. Feeling depressed, anxious or worried is normal when cancer is the part of your life and hence blood cancer treatment India has established support groups and counseling programs to help those who are seeking treatment.

Blood Cancer and Leukaemia Treatment in India

Our blood is made up of different kinds of cells, which includes the red blood cells. These cells supply oxygen and nutrients, as well as platelets, which together facilitate the clotting of blood. Also, white blood cells with the help of which our body gives a tough fight to various infections. When there is any issue or obstruction in the manufacturing of these cells, it gives rise to several immature blood cells. These poorly developed cells can also clog the Bone Marrow, which then prevent the other properly functioning blood cells to do their job efficiently.

This is when Blood Cancer strikes. It mostly damages the Leukocytes – these are the white blood cells. The patients affected are mostly above the age of 55, however, it is also very prevalent in children below the age of 15 years.Some of the other causes behind the occurrence of this deadly ailments, are viral infections, exposure to certain chemicals and high energy Radiation, etc. Blood Cancer can be grouped into Leukaemia, Myeloma and Lymphoma.

It is obvious that being detected with Blood Cancer can be very traumatizing for the patients – physically and psychologically. Receiving the apt treatment plays a significant role in the successful outcome. In the case of Blood Cancer, Bone Marrow Transplant is considered to be the most promising cure. But just the availability of cure is not enough; what is crucial are the surgical hands. Handling such sensitive and highly specialized surgical methods required utmost proficiency and ample amount of experience. In this matter, India is undeniably one of the most blessed venues. This is because there is a large of medical talent that is available here; particularly, when it comes to Blood Cancer and Leukaemia, India is visited by enumerable patients from different corners of the globe.

One of the most famed names in this field of blood cancer is Dr. Rahul Bhargava, who is respected and looked upon for providing exceptional care and support to his patients; be it adult patients or the paediatric patients suffering from Blood Cancer and require Transplantation therapy.

Thalassemia Treatment by Dr. Rahul Bhargava

Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder results in symptoms like fatigue, weakness, yellowish skin, facial bone deformity etc. and it is caused by mutations in the DNA of cells that make hemoglobin. Dr. Rahul Bhargava use three standard treatments for moderate and severe forms of thalassemia. These treatments include blood transfusions, iron chelation therapy, and folic acid supplements. Since the disease is genetic, it can’t be prevented but getting the best genetic counselor might help patients for their treatment. Though the degree of treatment differ on the basis of degree of disease spread, some of the most frequently used methods for thalassemia treatment by Dr. Bhargava may include frequent blood transfusion and stem cell transfusion bone marrow transplant.

Advance Blood Cancer Treatment Offered in India

Like every other field of medicine, the field of Oncology has undergone drastic evolution and there have been many advances specifically in the cure of Blood Cancer. There is wide spectrum of treatment options available however, a Bone Marrow Transplant procedure has shone outstandingly amongst all the options. Not only this procedure has bettered the survival rates but has overall enhanced the quality of life for such patients.

The type of transplant procedures operated in India are as follows:

Autologous Bone Marrow Transplant: In this transplant method, stem cells are taken from the patient themselves, harvested, frozen and stored. Then, these stem cells are given back to the patient after intensive therapy. The first step in this process is harvesting the stem cells. This is done by obtaining stem cells from the bloodstream. To bring the stem cells from Bone Marrow in the peripheral bloodstream, a mobilization treatment is done. Once the stem cells are in the bloodstream, the harvest process is started.

Then the blood is separated with the help of an Apheresis machine. This takes a few hoursand is performed again till the apt amount of stem cells is collected. Once the stem cells are harvested, they are frozen in a laboratory. During the next couple of days, the patient is administered with high doses of Chemotherapy and occasionally, Radiation Therapy in order to get rid of the remaining Cancer cells. After this, the frozen stem cells are thawed and re-infused into the bloodstream. This process takes about an hour to get completed. Once into the bloodstream, the stem cells reach the Bone Marrow and create fresh blood cells.

Allogenic Bone Marrow Transplant :In this form of transplant, stem cells are harvested from a matching donor and transplanted into the patient as the cure for the particular disease and to restore the patient’s immune system.The key to reaching maximum surgical success in this method is finding a matching donor.

Donors may include:

• HLA-matched relative (most often a sibling)
• HLA-matched unrelated donor
• HLA miss-matched family member
• Unrelated umbilical cord blood

Before starting the process, the patient has to go through a conditioning regime, in which the there is an intensive treatment done to eliminate as many Cancer cells as possible. During this process, the patient may be given high-dose Chemotherapy, or a combination of this and Radiation Therapy. After this preparative regime is done, after two days the transplant process is done. The stem cells are donated intravenously, and this takes around an hour.After entering the bloodstream, the stem cells reach the Bone Marrow and boost the production of new blood cells.Also, the transplant restores the supply of normal cells, which had been ruined by the intensive therapies.

Haploidentical Bone Marrow Transplant :This is a new type of Allogenic Transplant, in which the donor is mostly a family member (mother, father or the children). This transplant process takes the help of healthy, blood-forming cells from a half-matched donor to swap the damaged cells. In cases where Allogenic Transplants are implemented, as a part of the evaluation process, Dr. Bhargava checks for a close match of a protein called Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) type. It is a marker found on most cells in the body. But sometimes a match is not available and in such a scenario, Haploidentical Transplant is opted for. In this, exactly half of the HLA is matched.

Syngeneic Bone Marrow Transplant: In this type of transplant, the donor is an identical twin of the patient. Being the simplest source of stem cells, Syngeneic Transplants have the minimum amount of risks involved. There is risk of rejection, or graft-versus-host disorder (GVHD), or any chances of a tumour in the marrow. Also, the restoration of immune system and recovery of blood cell is very prompt. The only drawback of Syngeneic Transplants is the insufficiency of the Graft Versus Leukaemia (GVL) effect, which is there is Allogeneic Transplants. It helps in lowering the chance of tumour relapse.

Umbilical: This form of transplant is for paediatric patients. Partially matched Cord Blood is an extremely efficient source of stem cells. It has emerged out to be a very effectual and standard cure for children requiring Stem Cell Transplantation.

Not only does he provide these highly specialized methods of treatment, but he also continually puts his best efforts in generating the much-needed data on the incidence, cure and the outcome of various Cancers. His aim is to create greater awareness related to the Blood Cancer treatment among the medical practitioners; and the patients and people in general, about the causes and risk factors, which they can be wary about.

The signs and symptoms that the patients need to watch out for, include:

• Frequently occurring infections
• Loss of weight
• Poor blood clotting
• Recurring headaches – this is very usual but if occurring frequently, then it may be because the Cancer might have entered into the Central Nervous System
• Bleeding from nose
• Persistent fatigue or weakness
• Difficulty in breathing
• Flu-like symptoms
• Loss of appetite

Knowing More About Dr. Rahul Bhargava

Dr. Bhargava boasts of over 23 years of experience as one of the best haemato oncologist in India. He has been associated with some of the most coveted hospitals in India. He has worked as a Consultant and Senior Consultant with hospitals such as Artemis Hospital in Gurgaon, Medanta – the Medicity, Gurgaon, Christian Medical College in Vellore, which are considered to the leading centres of excellence, not only in India but are known across the globe. Presently, he is the Director of Haematology, Paediatric Haematology, Immunology and Stem Cell Transplant at Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI), Gurgaon, which is India’s first integrated Centre of Excellence in Haematology, Paediatric Hematology, and Stem Cell Transplant.

During his extensive career, Dr. Bhargava has dealt with enumerable adult and paediatric patients suffering from a wide range of Congenital and Acquired ailments. This includes Acute and Chronic blood conditions such as Blood Cancers, bleeding disorders along with and inherited immune deficiency syndromes and metabolic disorders. The specific type of Blood Cancer responds to specific kind of treatment and hence Dr. Bhargava strongly emphasizes on doing a very definitive diagnosis in order to bring out the best treatment results. The evaluation process includes doing a PET (Positron Emission Tomography) Scan, CT (Computed Tomography) Scan, Bone Marrow Biopsy and a few other tests. These tests help in finding out the extent to which the Cancer has spread into the patient’s body.

Dr. Bhargava stresses the implementation of Bone Marrow Transplant as the long term cure for Blood Cancer; specifically, for Acute Leukaemias (Acute Myelogenous Leukaemia, Acute Lymphocytic Leukaemia) and Chronic Leukaemias (Chronic Myelogenous Leukaemia, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia).

Being highly qualified and trained at some of the most prestigious institutes such as AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), Delhi, Gandhi Medical College Bhopal as well as, Advanced Fellowship in Unrelated and Haploidentical Transplant from Vancouver, Dr. Bhargava brings a lot of knowledge and training. At Vancouver, he underwent specific training about Voluntary Stem Cell and Umbilical Cord Transplantation. He is always focused on improving the services of the hospitals that he has been associated with. At Medanta, he crafted the Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplant Services to match the expectations of the patients, and this department quickly became one of the most reputed centers for these services. Before joining the Fortis Group, he became a part of the much esteemed Artemis Hospital, where he led the Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation Department for quite some time. Under his guidance, this department flourished extremely well, attending to numerous patients with the most advanced clinical skills.

He is highly regarded for the outstanding treatment outcome, when it comes to Stem Cell Transplant. More specifically, for Haploidentical Transplant. His vision of the integrated centre of excellence in Haematology, Paediatric Haematology and Stem Cell Transplant has been fulfilled at FMRI Gurgaon. Dr. Bhargava looks after patients not only from all corners of India, but also from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Africa, Nepal, Bhutan, Iraq and Russia, among many other countries.