What Function Do Stem Cells Play in Cancer Treatment? | Dr. David Greene Arizona

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What Function Do Stem Cells Play in Cancer
Treatment?
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Stem cells mostly live in the bone marrow (the
spongy center of certain bones). This is where
they divide to make new blood cells. Once blood
cells mature, they leave the bone marrow and
enter the bloodstream
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Where stem cells for transplants come from
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Some cancers start in the bone marrow and others
can spread to it. Cancer attacks the bone marrow,
causing it to make too many of some cells that
crowd out others, or causing it to make cells
that arent healthy and don't work like they
should. For these cancers to stop growing, they
need bone marrow cells to work properly and start
making new, healthy cells
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Stem cell transplants are used to replace bone
marrow cells that have been destroyed by cancer
or destroyed by the chemo and/or radiation used
to treat the cancer.There are different kinds of
stem cell transplants. They all use very high
doses of chemo (sometimes along with radiation)
to kill cancer cells. But the high doses can also
kill all the stem cells a person has and can
cause the bone marrow to completely stop making
blood cells for a period of time
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Thank you