Leukaemia Treatment in Turkey- Get Cost Estimate

What is the Cost of Leukaemia Treatment in Turkey?

Leukaemia, a type of blood cancer, affects both blood and bone marrow, which further leads to abnormal growth of white blood cells. According to global estimates for 2020, leukaemia ranked as the 15th most common type of cancer diagnosed and the 11th leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide.

The average cost of leukaemia treatment in Turkey ranges between USD 1800 to USD 70,000. This cost includes chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant, any pre -diagnostic tests, post treatment monitoring and follow-ups etc.

What is Leukaemia?

Leukaemia is a type of cancer that appears in the bone marrow, leading to excess growth of unhealthy white blood cells. These abnormal white blood cells are immature and cannot fight infections, thus making the body more prone to infection.

White blood cells, which are also known as lymphocytes, play a crucial role in the immune system from defending the body against infections to recognising and neutralising harmful pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and other foreign invaders. 

The three major types of leukaemia are:

• Acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL): This type of leukaemia, or blood cancer, most commonly occurs in children and affects immature lymphocytes, which are not very effective at fighting infection.

• Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML): Most commonly occurring in adults, this affects the myeloid cells present in the bone marrow after which the patient suffers from severe blood infections, anaemia, and easy bleeding.

• Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL): Unlike acute forms of leukaemia, CLL develops slowly over months or years. In its early stages, patients might not show symptoms. In CLL, the bone marrow produces abnormal, immature B lymphocytes. These abnormal cells do not function properly and don't produce functional antibodies, which weakens the immune system.

• Chronic myeloid leukaemia: In this leukaemia, one of the precursor cells called myeloid cells, are affected, leading to their uncontrolled and abnormal growth.

This blood cancer is marked by a genetic mutation known as the Philadelphia chromosome, where there is a translocation between chromosomes 9 and 22. 

When a patients is suffering any of these blood related cancers, they may face range of symptoms which includes :

• Persistent fatigue with weakness

• Frequent or severe infections

• Consistent weight loss without efforts

• Swollen lymph nodes

• Enlarged liver or spleen

• Easy bleeding or bruising

• Recurrent nosebleeds

• Tiny red spots in your skin (petechiae)

• Bone pain or tenderness in bone

If you are facing any of these symptoms for a long time, this indicates that you might need immediate treatments.

What are the Types of Leukaemia Treatment In Turkey?

If you have been diagnosed with leukaemia, your treatment approach will be determined by the stage of leukaemia you are suffering from. The treatment approach also affects the cost of Leukaemia Treatment In Turkey.

Some of the common types of leukaemia treatment includes:

Induction Chemotherapy 

This is considered as the primary treatment for leukaemia. This involves the use of powerful drugs to destroy the rapidly spreading cancerous cells. However, with this approach, not only the cancerous cells but some of the healthy cells may also get affected, leading to multiple side effects.

Bone Marrow Transplant

Bone marrow transplant (BMT) is a common procedure where the damaged or diseased bone marrow is replaced with healthy bone marrow cells. The stem cells which replace diseased cells, then further mature into new blood cells, allowing the body to produce healthy blood again.

BMT is categorised into two types:

• Autologous bone marrow transplant

In autologous bone marrow transplant, the patient's stem cells are collected before they are exposed to high-dose chemotherapy or radiation treatment. Since, the chemotherapy targets the healthy blood cells as well to some extent, so after the therapy, the collected stem cells are reintroduced to help rebuild healthy bone marrow.

• Allogeneic bone marrow transplant

In this procedure, stem cells from a closely HLA- matched donor are utilised to reduce chances of rejection risk. These stem cells for allogeneic transplants can be obtained from a matched sibling donor, a matched unrelated donor, or a haploidentical transplant as well.

What are the Factors that Affect the Cost of Leukaemia Treatment in Turkey?

The cost of leukaemia treatment in Turkey can vary significantly with the combination of treatment approaches utilised. Here are some common factors affecting the cost of leukaemia treatment in Turkey:

Type of Leukaemia

Leukaemia can be mainly categorised into four types: acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). The cost of leukaemia treatment in Turkey varies with long-term medication, periodic intensive chemotherapy, blood transfusions and other treatment approaches required.

Type of Treatment

The type of treatment approach also affects the cost of leukaemia treatment in Turkey.

Hospital stay

Treatment of leukaemia is costly because patients require a long period in BMT units with associated needs for isolation that can increase the costs. A patient may need to stay within the hospital for nearly 4-6 weeks.

In case, the leukaemia relapses after a bone marrow transplant, it may be necessary to extend the hospital stay which can involve further costs because of relapse of the disease. This contributes to the cost of leukaemia treatment in Turkey.

What is the Average Cost of Leukamia Treatment in Turkey Vs. Other Countries?

What are Pre-treatment and Post-treatment Expenses in Leukaemia

Apart from the treatment, you must be aware of some other expenses, such as:

• Pre-transplant expenses (Blood test, bone marrow biopsy, genetic test, imaging tests, etc): USD 400 - USD 500

• Post-transplant expenses (hospitalisation and medication): USD 300 and USD 400

What Should be Post-care after Leukaemia Treatment?

Proper post-transplant care after a bone marrow transplant for leukaemia is very important for successful recovery and to avoid complications. 

Some key points about post-transplant care include the following:

Monitoring and Follow-up Visits

Follow-up visits with the transplant team are essential to observe your recovery and identify any post-treatment complications on time.

During this, signs of infection or graft-versus-host disease are identified based on blood examination.

Medications 

In case of allogeneic bone marrow transplant, patients need to take immunosuppressive drugs so as not to reject the transplanted organ and to prevent graft-versus-host disease.

Sometimes, antibiotics and antiviral drugs might be given to reduce the chances of infections.

Dietary Support

The recovery progress would be complemented by a balanced diet that provides such foods full of vitamins and minerals.

Patients must take adequate fluids to hydrate.

Exercise and Physical Activities

Gradual rehabilitation in physical activities may be encouraged. The patients may start with low-intensity activities and gradually increase the intensity based on their tolerance.

Physiotherapy may be recommended to enable the patients to regain their strength and endurance.

Lifestyle modifications

Patients should avoid smoking, while alcohol intake should also be limited for better recovery.

For stress management, techniques like mindfulness and meditation ought to be exercised by the patients.