“Is anemia serious?”

It is the cause of the anemia that may be serious. There are many causes and many different types of anemia.

Anemia is a very broad, simple, term that describes a finding. The finding is low red blood cell counts. This finding, description "Anemia" does not tell you what is causing the red blood cell counts to be low. There are dozens of causes and the answer depends on what is the actual diagnosis that is causing the anemia. Some serious diagnosis that can cause anemia are stomach cancer, esophageal cancer, colon cancer, kidney failure, myelodysplastic syndrome or other bone marrow cancers. Some very common causes are things so simple as low iron from heavy menstrual periods, low B12 vitamins, low copper or other nutrients. So, you need to work with your doctor to understand the cause of the anemia.