Haematology cancers or blood cancer is a type of cancer that affects your blood cells. 

Your Consultant or Cancer Nurse Specialist will be able to talk to you about your cancer in more detail. For a short video from our team about this type of cancer and your local service click here. 

There are different types of blood cancer, please follow the links below to get more information from Blood Cancer UK:

Each one of the above have different symptoms, treatments and prognoses. If you've recently been diagnosed with any type of blood cancer, click here to order a free booklet or download  'Your blood cancer diagnosis - what happens now?'. It tells you the key things to know about blood cancer, including tips from other people who've been diagnosed.

Acute and chronic blood cancers

You might see blood cancers described as:

  • acute – this means a fast-growing cancer
  • chronic – this means a slower-growing cancer

Blood cancer symptoms vary depending on the type of blood cancer, whether it's leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma or any other blood cancer.Blood cancer symptoms include:

  • Weight loss that is unexplained
  • Bruising or bleeding that is unexplained
  • Lumps or swellings
  • Shortness of breath (breathlessness)
  • Drenching night sweats
  • Infections that are persistent, recurrent or severe
  • Fever (38°C or above) that is unexplained
  • Rash or itchy skin that is unexplained
  • Pain in your bones, joints or abdomen (stomach area)
  • Tiredness that doesn’t improve with rest or sleep (fatigue)
  • Paleness (pallor)

Click here to look at more specific information about symptoms for different types of blood cancer. Not everyone will have the same symptoms, and some people may have symptoms that are not listed on this page.

 

Symptoms in different skin tones

Some symptoms of blood cancer may look different on different skin tones.

  • Bruises generally start as red patches which change colour and get darker over time. They often feel tender. On black and brown skin, bruises may be difficult to see initially, but as they develop, they show up as darker than the skin around them.
  • Rashes often appear as clusters of tiny spots (petechiae) or larger blotches (purpura). On black and brown skin, they may look purple or darker than the surrounding skin. On lighter skin, they typically look red or purple. If you press on them, petechiae and purpura don’t fade.
  • Paleness (pallor) might mean someone looks unusually pale because they have too few red blood cells. Pallor is often more immediately noticeable in light skin. People with black or brown skin may look greyish and their palms may look paler than usual. They might also notice pallor in their lips, gums, tongue or nail beds. In all skin tones, pallor can be seen by pulling down the lower eyelid. The inside is normally dark pink or red, but if it’s pale pink or white, it’s a sign of pallor.

We'd like to thank the ACLT (African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust) for their help reviewing this information. ACLT raises awareness about stem cell, blood and organ donation in all UK communities, with a focus on the African and Caribbean communities. You should see a GP if you have these symptoms.

Our Haematology Service is the clinical speciality involved in the diagnosis and management of patients with blood-related disorders.

We have links to regional centres at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Gateshead Queen Elizabeth hospital. We are involved in specialised care planning within the northern region to plan the best care possible for our patients. This will include trials that may also be available. Trust for haematological malignancy and haemophilia when appropriate.

There are two aspects to this service: laboratory and clinical. Laboratory haematology is carried out by biomedical scientists who analyse blood samples. They work closely with clinical haematologists to discuss the results

The clinical service consists of inpatient care on a specialised ward with trained haematology staff at Sunderland Royal hospital, day cases for chemotherapy investigations and therapeutic interventions at South Tyneside and Sunderland ward referrals and outpatient clinics. Our aim is to provide the best cancer care closer to home throughout the region.

The laboratory supports the hospital and local GPs by offering a range of haematological investigations and a blood transfusion service.

A 24 hour consultant advisory service covers both the laboratory and clinical services. There is always a haematologist available on call 24 hours per day.

On both sites there are purpose built outpatient clinics and day case / chemotherapy clinics. Inpatient facilities are available at Sunderland where we have isolation rooms with heap-air filtration to protect patients with low immune systems.

Our consultant led service has dedicated clinical nurse specialists, additional specialist nursing support and therapies, all of which provide comprehensive care throughout the patient's journey.
Contacting your Specialist Nurse/Key Worker

Contact numbers are detailed on the specialist nurse’s card, given at your first meeting.

Your Specialist Nurse will be available Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 4.30pm. If they are not available to take your call, there is an answer phone service for you to leave a message. When using this service, please leave your name and telephone number. The answer phone is checked regularly throughout the day and your specialist nurse will always try to return your call within the next working day.

Your specialist nurse is happy to be contacted to discuss anything you feel is important. Your discussions will be confidential.

Useful contact numbers:

If you have any concerns, you may contact your Consultant or the specialist team by the telephone numbers below:

Urgent advice line:
  • In Hours: Monday to Friday 8:15am – 18:45pm;  Saturday 8:30am -14:30pm. Tel: 0191 5656256 Bleep 52524
  • Out of Hours: 0191 5656256 bleep 57531

Please wait for a nurse to answer.

Your Consultant & Specialist Team
  • Dr Marshall and Dr Upadhye secretary:  Tel: 0191 5656256 ext. 47582
  • Dr Hervey, Dr Mathews, Dr Nicolle secretary: Tel: 0191 5656256 ext. 47248
  • Dr Chattree and Dr Graves secretary: Tel: 0191 5656256 ext. 47252
  • Anita Carr Haematology Specialist Nurse (Myeloma): Tel: 07920708134
  • Faye Marshall Haematology Specialist Nurse (Leukaemia and MPN): Tel 07876496750
  • Jill Bell Haematology Specialist Nurse (Lymphoma): Tel: 07789948675
  • Lisa Dryburgh Haematology Specialist Nurse: Tel: 07385394420
  • Paula Newton/Jennie Jobling/Angela Dixon; Haematology Research Nurses: Tel: 0191 5656256 ext. 47264
  • Phoenix Unit: Tel: 0191 5656256 ext. 49822
  • OHDU: Tel: 01914041053
  • B28 Inpatient Ward: Tel: 0191 5699728

The following links to Videos cover a range of topics around Haematology cancer care

Did you know? 

Over 40,000 people are diagnosed with a blood cancer each year in the UK, and over 250,000 people are currently living with blood cancer. 

Tests and Scans
Treatments
Symptom Management
Health and Wellbeing
Palliative Care
Patient Stories