Blood Disorders

Specializing in blood disorders

For more than 45 years, we have helped patients find answers, clarity, and high-quality care for a wide range of blood disorders—many of which are benign and treatable. Whether you are facing a new diagnosis or continuing long-term management, our hematology team provides compassionate, expert support tailored to your needs.

Why was I referred to Illinois CancerCare for a blood issue?

Hematology and oncology are combined in the same clinics because they use similar specialists, tests, and equipment. A referral to Illinois CancerCare does NOT mean you have cancer. It simply means that a blood specialist is needed.

Most patients we see for abnormal blood counts have benign conditions such as low iron, low platelets, or mild clotting issues.

We take a multidisciplinary approach to your evaluation and care, collaborating with hematologists, oncologists, Advanced Practice Providers, research professionals, infusion nurses, and pharmacy specialists.

Connect with our hematology team

Patient Appointment Form Provider Referral Form

(For Providers)
To contact our patient intake team:

Phone: 309-243-3570

Fax: 309-243-3080

On‑Site Laboratory Services for Blood Disorders

Our on-site laboratory supports the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of blood disorders by providing timely and accurate testing. Many laboratory tests are performed in-house, allowing your care team to make informed decisions without unnecessary delays.

The laboratory is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (excluding holidays). If labs are needed on the same day as your appointment, please arrive 45–60 minutes early so testing can be completed before you see your provider. Our team will let you know what to expect and answer any questions.

Common Blood Disorder Tests We Perform

Our laboratory offers testing commonly used to evaluate and manage benign and malignant blood conditions, including anemia, platelet disorders, clotting disorders, and blood cancers.

These tests include:

Complete Blood Count (CBC) to evaluate red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets
Iron Studies to assess iron storage and usage
Vitamin B12 and Folate Levels to help identify causes of anemia
Prothrombin Time (PT) to monitor blood clotting and anticoagulation therapy
Routine Chemistry Panels to assess kidney function, liver function, electrolytes, and proteins
Thyroid Testing to evaluate thyroid conditions that may affect blood counts

Specialized Testing for Complex Blood Disorders

For patients with more complex hematologic conditions, our laboratory provides advanced diagnostic testing used to guide diagnosis and ongoing care.

Specialized testing includes:

Bone Marrow Aspiration and Biopsy to evaluate bone marrow function and identify abnormal blood cell production
Quantitative Immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, IgM) and Beta‑2 Microglobulin, commonly used to monitor plasma cell disorders and related diseases. These tests are often performed alongside serum protein electrophoresis (SPE), immunofixation electrophoresis (IFE), and free light chain testing.

How Bone Marrow Testing Is Performed

Bone marrow aspiration and biopsy are typically performed on the hip bone. Your care team will explain the procedure in advance and take steps to keep you as comfortable as possible. The area is cleaned and numbed with a local anesthetic before a needle is used to collect marrow fluid and tissue samples. These samples are then examined to help diagnose and monitor blood disorders affecting the bone marrow.

Supporting Ongoing Blood Disorder Care

Laboratory testing is a key part of blood disorder care. By offering essential tests on-site, we help streamline diagnosis, monitor disease progression, and assess response to treatment.

List of Blood Disorders

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with a blood disorder, you can learn more about it here.

See Blood Disorder Types

Common Treatments

Hematologic conditions affect blood and bone marrow in different ways, and treatment is highly individualized.

Learn About Common Treatments

What to Ask Your Doctor

Being educated and informed will help you make the best decisions about your blood disorder treatment.

Discover Questions to Ask

Benign Hematology Clinic

Our Benign Hematology Clinic providers have specialized training and expertise in diagnosing and managing non-cancerous blood disorders.

Find a Clinic

Understanding Blood Disorders

Frequently Asked Questions About Blood Disorders

Understanding your blood disorder can help you feel more confident and involved in your care. Asking questions and having open conversations with your doctor is always encouraged.

This FAQ is a helpful place to start. It offers general information to introduce common terms, processes, and what you can expect when living with a blood disorder. While it doesn’t replace conversations with your care team, it can help you feel more prepared and informed before your visits.

Still have questions?

We’re here to help. Reach out to our team if you’d like more information about blood disorders or need guidance on where to start.

A blood disorder is any kind of abnormality that prevents your blood cells from carrying out their typical functions. There are red blood cell, white blood cell, platelets, and clotting disorders. Each blood disorder looks different in every person. Some may not present symptoms or require extensive treatment, while others are lifelong disorders that require treatment but typically won’t affect your lifespan. Most of the blood disorders we treat at Illinois CancerCare are benign (non-cancerous).

Benign (non-cancerous)

Benign blood disorders are non‑cancerous conditions that affect how your blood cells work, how many you have, or how your blood clots. They do not involve uncontrolled cancerous growth. These conditions are very common, usually treatable, and often temporary.

Low iron or iron‑deficiency anemia
Low platelets
Bleeding or clotting disorders
Low or high white blood cell counts

Malignant (cancerous)

Cancerous blood disorders happen when abnormal blood cells grow and multiply uncontrollably, crowding out healthy cells. These include leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, which require specialized treatment.

Your care team may refer to certain treatments as supportive care. The goal of supportive care is to help you manage the symptoms of your disease. These treatments do not treat the underlying cause of the disease.

In general, supportive care includes:

Blood transfusions to raise blood cell counts
Antibiotics to treat infection
Iron chelation therapy to treat iron overload, a side effect of getting many red blood cell transfusions
Growth factors may also be used as supportive care. These are naturally occurring hormones produced in your body, and they cause your bone marrow to produce more blood cells.

For each treatment, providers use specific criteria to measure how well it works. The best possible outcome is called a complete response (also known as a full response). These criteria can vary based on the disease being treated and the medication used.

For people with bone marrow failure disorders, a complete response usually means blood counts improve and stay at or near normal levels after treatment. For patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a complete response may also include no blast cells in the blood and a normal number of blast cells in the bone marrow.

A partial response means the treatment is working, but not as well as a complete response. Blood counts improve, but do not return fully to normal. Typically, this means counts have improved at least halfway between where they started and normal levels.

Because response criteria can differ, it’s important to ask your doctor how they are defining a complete response and a partial response for your specific treatment.

Active treatment focuses on the underlying cause of the disease. These are medications specifically approved to treat certain bone marrow failure conditions and are intended to slow, control, or modify the disease itself. While active treatments can be very effective, they are not considered a cure. At this time, the only potential cure for a bone marrow failure disease is a bone marrow or stem cell transplant.

Supportive care, on the other hand, is designed to help manage symptoms and side effects of the disease or its treatment. Supportive care does not treat the root cause of the condition, but it plays an important role in helping patients feel better and stay as healthy as possible during treatment. This may include blood transfusions to improve blood counts, antibiotics to treat infections, iron chelation therapy to manage iron overload from repeated transfusions, and growth factors that help the bone marrow produce more blood cells.

Watchful waiting is an approach your doctor may recommend if your blood counts are not too low, and your symptoms are mild. With this approach, your doctor closely monitors your condition without starting treatment unless symptoms develop or change. Watchful waiting may be recommended in the early stages of aplastic anemia, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), or paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH).