What to know about leukemia

What to know about leukemia

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow that produces blood cells. Leukocytes or white blood cells are usually affected.

Leukemia usually affects people over the age of 55, but it is also the most common cancer in people under the age of 15.

The National Cancer Institute estimates that 60,650 people in the United States will be diagnosed with leukemia by 2022. He also predicted that 24,000 deaths from leukemia would occur in the same year.

There are different types of leukemia and the diagnosis depends on the type. Acute leukemia grows quickly and gets worse quickly, while chronic leukemia gets worse over time.

In this article, we provide an overview of leukemia, causes, treatment, types, and symptoms.

Cause

Leukemia occurs when the DNA of developing blood cells, especially white blood cells, is damaged. This causes irregular growth and division of blood cells.

Normally, healthy blood cells die after a while and new cells are born in the bone marrow and take their place.

In leukemia, blood cells grow too fast, don’t work as efficiently, and don’t die at their natural point in their life cycle. Instead, they pile up and take up more space.

As the bone marrow produces more cancer cells, they begin to overflow into the bloodstream, preventing healthy white blood cells from growing and functioning normally. It also affects platelets and red blood cells.

After all, there are more cancer cells than healthy cells in the blood.

Risk factors

Experts usually don’t know what causes leukemia, but environmental and genetic factors may play a role.

While genetic traits don’t cause leukemia, they can make you more susceptible to certain conditions, such as exposure to certain chemicals or infections.

Risk factors depend on the type.

Scientists have found links between leukemia and several factors, although more research is needed to confirm many of them.

These include reliable sources:

• History of certain infections such as the Epstein-Barr virus
• Exposure to ionizing radiation, such as during radiation therapy for previous cancer, background radiation, or being near a location where people have tested nuclear weapons
• High or low birth weight
• Be a man, because it is more common in men
• Exposure to pesticides and air pollution
• Parents smoke
• Cesarean section before childbirth
• Genetic disorders, such as Down’s syndrome or Klinefelter’s syndrome
• Benzene exposure
• History of chemotherapy
• Ever had blood cancer

Type

Doctors classify different types of leukemia:

• What type of blood cells do they come from?
• Are they acute (fast-growing) or chronic (slow-growing)?
• They occur in children or adults

Acute and chronic leukemia

In acute leukemia, the developing cells multiply rapidly and accumulate in the bone marrow and blood. A blood test will show that more than 20% of the blood cells are blasts. This means they are immature – they leave the bone marrow too early – and they don’t work.

Chronic leukemia progresses more slowly. This ensures the production of more mature and useful cells. On blood tests, less than 20% of cells are blasts.

Lymphatic and myeloid leukemia

Lymphocytic leukemia occurs when cancerous changes affect the type of bone marrow that produces lymphocytes.

Myeloid leukemia occurs when changes affect cells in the bone marrow that make blood cells instead of blood cells.

General type

There are different types of blood cancer. there are:

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Children younger than 5 years of age are most at risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However, it can often affect adults over 50 as well. About 60% are children.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) mainly affects people over the age of 70, but it can also affect younger people. About 25% of new leukemia cases develop CLL. It is more common in men than women and rarely affects children.

Acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is more common in adults than in children and more common in men than women. However, it is generally rare.

Chronic myeloid leukemia

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) accounts for about 15% of leukemia cases in the United States. It is rare in children.

Hairy cell leukemia

Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is a rare form of leukemia that mainly affects middle-aged and elderly people. Approximately 1,000 new cases occur each year in the United States. It is continuous and evolves slowly.

It got its name because of the hair-like hair that grows when cancer cells are seen under a microscope.

Treatment

Treatment options depend on the following factors.

• Types of blood cancer
• Husband’s age
• their general state of health

Treatment options your doctor may recommend include:

• Look for slow-growing leukemias, such as CLL and HCL
• Chemical treatment
• Radiotherapy
• Targeted therapy
• Immunotherapy
• Bone marrow transplantation
• Surgery to remove the spleen
• Stem cell transplantation with chemotherapy

Your cancer care team will adjust this depending on the type of blood cancer you have. The earlier the treatment is started, the greater the likelihood of its effects.

The symptoms

Symptoms of leukemia vary by type.

There are:

• Easy washing and bleeding
• Leukemia affects the body’s platelets, making it difficult for blood to clot.

A person:

• Light and continuous pressure
• Small wounds that bleed profusely and heal slowly
• Bleeding from the nose or gums
• Petechiae – The appearance of small red spots on the skin
• Purple – Purple areas on the skin

Common diseases

White blood cells are important in fighting infection. If the white blood cells are not working properly, that person can get many infections.

Anemia

Anemia occurs when the number of red blood cells is too low. It occurs when there is not enough hemoglobin in the blood.

Symptoms of anemia include:

• Dizziness and vertigo
• weakness
• Fatigue
• Difficulty in breathing
• Rapid heartbeat
• Body aches
• pale

Other features

Other signs of reliable sources are:

• mixed
• HEAT
• Skeletal pain
• Loses weight

Other conditions show all the symptoms of leukemia. People who are concerned about symptoms should see a doctor.

Recognize

Your doctor may do the following.

Do a physical examination

Ask for personal and family medical history

Look for symptoms of anemia

Increased feeling of the liver or spleen

Collection of blood for laboratory analysis

If doctors suspect leukemia, they may perform a bone marrow biopsy. The surgeon uses a long, thin needle to remove bone marrow from the center of the bone, usually the hip joint.

Insight

There are several types, some of which affect children.

Experts do not know the exact cause of leukemia, but genetic factors and exposure to pesticides and other toxins may play a role.

Chemotherapy is the main treatment option, but other methods are available depending on the type of leukemia.