C96.9: Malignant neoplasm of lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissue, unspecified

You have cancer of immune cells or blood stem cells.

The immune system protects the body from pathogens and foreign substances. The immune system can also destroy cells in the body that have pathologically changed. The body's immune system is made up of different types of immune cells. Some immune cells can destroy pathogens or foreign bodies themselves. Other immune cells produce certain antibodies.

Blood stem cells are cells that can develop into different types of blood cells. Different types of stem cells and therefore also blood cells can be distinguished:

• Red blood cells are important for carrying oxygen in the blood.
• White blood cells are part of the body’s immune system. They fight pathogens.
• Platelets are important for clotting blood.

With cancer of the blood stem cells, these stem cells divide uncontrollably and much too frequently. There are then far too many stem cells and blood cells and they cannot work properly either. The diseased stem cells and blood cells can crowd out healthy cells. This means there are often too few healthy cells.

There are cancers of immune cells or of blood stem cells that cause serious symptoms in a short time, causing you to feel weak or have a fever, for example. You also sometimes lose weight. But there are also cancers of immune cells or of blood stem cells that are discovered accidentally and only cause a few symptoms at the beginning.