• Question: How do stem cells help to cure some cancer?

    Asked by Nad to Dawn on 22 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Dawn Lau

      Dawn Lau answered on 22 Jun 2016:

      That’s also another great question! In some cancers like leukemia, the cancer treatment kills the cancer cells but also the healthy stem cells in your bone marrow. Stem cell transplants are used to replace the lost cells during chemotherapy so that your body has enough red/white blood cells and platelets. This doesn’t cure the cancer (the chemotherapy is what kills the cancer cells), but it is a life-saving treatment that is necessary if the chemotherapy also damages your bone marrow.

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