Thanks for contacting HCM with you medical questions. I am sorry to hear about your mother and her low Hgb counts. The loss of blood over a long period of time is the usual cause of a low blood count. the most common source of blood loss is the GI tract. A full GI evaluation with upper and lower scopes is the usual initial procedures. There are several things that could cause bleeding in the GI tract including gastritis, peptic ulcers, angiodysplagia and cancers. There is a likelihood that your grandmother may have cancer but until the tests are done no on will know. In the mean time she should stop taking any medications that may cause bleeding like aspirin. She should take the iron replacement pills. Hope this answers your question. Please contact us again with your medical questions.