Leukemia

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What is leukemia?
Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, the spongy center of bones where our blood cells are formed. The disease develops when blood cells producedin the bone marrow grow out of control.

Leukemia usually starts in the white blood cells. Your white blood cells are potent infection fighters — they normally grow and divide in an orderly way, asyour body needs them. But in people with leukemia, the bone marrow produces abnormal white blood cells, which don't function properly.

Leukemia affects the body's blood-forming tissues, includingthe bone marrow and the lymphatic system.

 

The four most common types of leukemia are:

 acute myeloid leukemia (AML)

acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)

chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)

signs

• Unexplained fevers
• Fatigue (feeling tired or washed out)
• Weight loss
• Easy bleeding or bruising


• symptoms: Leukemiasymptoms vary, depending on the type of leukemia. Common leukemia signs and symptoms include:

Frequent infections
 Fever or chills

 Persistent fatigue, weakness

 Frequent infections Losing weight without trying

 Swollen lymph nodes, enlarged liver or spleen

 Easy bleeding or bruising

 Tiny red spots in your skin (petechiae)

 Excessive sweating, especially at night

 Bonepain or tenderness

Etiology: Scientists don't understand the exact causes of leukemia. It seems to develop from a cIn general, leukemia is thought to occur when some blood cells acquire mutationsin their DNA — the instructions inside each cell that guide its action. Or other changes in the cells that have yet to be fully understood could contribute to causing leukemia. The abnormalities causethe cell to grow and divide more rapidly and to continue living when normal cells would die. Over time, these abnormal cells can crowd out healthy blood cells in the bone marrow, leading to fewer...