Blood disorders

Treatment

At Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA), our world-class experts provide comprehensive, team-based treatment for blood cancers and other disorders that affect the blood, bone marrow or immune system.

Being diagnosed with a blood disorder can feel overwhelming. We have an experienced, compassionate team ready to help. 

Blood disorders expertise at SCCA

Everything you need is here

SCCA has hematologists and hematologist-oncologists who specialize in blood cancers and nonmalignant blood diseases; the most advanced diagnostic, treatment and recovery programs; and extensive support.

Innovative blood disorder therapies

Our patients have access to advanced therapies, including those being explored in clinical studies conducted here and at our founding organizations Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and UW Medicine. Our doctors and scientists have pioneered many blood disorders treatments, and we advance new therapies every day. 

Blood disorder treatment tailored to you

Your SCCA team develops an individualized treatment plan for you based on your specific disease, the severity, how it has progressed, your age, your overall health and your family history. We combine these factors with the latest scientific knowledge and our experience treating many other people who’ve faced the same illness.

Team-based approach

Along with your hematologist or hematologist-oncologist, nurses and nurse case manager, we’ll involve additional experts who specialize in treating people with blood disorders and cancer if you need them — experts like a radiation oncologist, social worker, physical therapist, palliative care professional or dietitian.

Ongoing care and support

During and after treatment, your team provides follow-up care as well as support on a schedule tailored to you. We understand that your disease and treatment might impact nearly every aspect of your life, and we’re here to help you cope with the physical, practical and emotional effects. 

Treatment options

The doctors at SCCA treat a wide range of blood disorders using the latest therapies with an eye to providing care to you as a whole person. We’ll clearly explain all your options, which treatment course we believe is best for you and why. 

Depending on your particular diagnosis, treatment might include:

  • Growth factors to stimulate blood cell production
  • Steroids or other drugs to suppress your immune system
  • Chemotherapy to destroy abnormal cells
  • Transfusions to support you with healthy blood cells
  • Gene therapy to replace or deactivate a disease-causing gene or to introduce a disease-fighting gene
  • Immunotherapy to harness the power of your own immune system to fight disease

Learn More About Immunotherapy

Bleeding disorders like hemophilia may call for blood-component therapies, such as platelet transfusions or clotting factors. Diseases that involve clotting might require drugs that reduce the risk of clots forming.

Some conditions require a bone marrow transplant to replace your marrow stem cells with healthy ones. Doctors at the Fred Hutch Bone Marrow Transplant Program at SCCA have performed more than 16,000 bone marrow transplants — more than any other institution in the world.

Learn More About Bone Marrow Transplant

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