Every three minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with a blood cancer, and more than 172,000 people in the U.S. are expected to receive a blood-cancer diagnosis this year alone. With those staggering numbers, blood cancers, which include leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), are listed as the third leading cancer killer of Americans.

Blood cancers are a group of cancers that affects the production and function of your blood cells. They can affect bone marrow, blood vessels or lymph nodes, which affect normal blood cell production or function. It can affect anyone at any time, and there is no way to prevent or screen for most of these cancers. However, there are some common symptoms of blood cancers that should not be ignored, such as unexplained weight loss, easily bruising or bleeding, pain in the back, ribs, bones or joints and more.

One easy way to remember what symptoms to look for is to learn the acronym TEST: Tiredness and exhaustion; Excessive sweating; Sore bones and joints; and Terrible bruising or unusual bleeding. Today, nearly 1.3 million people in the United States are living with, or are in remission from, leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma.

Although there is not a known way to prevent this form of cancer, the goal is to educate the public and focus on cures for this deadly disease. To learn more about blood cancers, treatments and survivor stories, visit http://www.lls.org/.