LEUKEMIA: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

The cancer that arises in the blood or the bone-marrow is known to be Leukemia. When the body faces a problem with the production of blood cells (which the bone marrow produces), leukemia has a chance to build up. The things most affected by this are, the leukocytes a.k.a white blood cells (WBC’s).

This type of cancer happens mostly to individuals above the age of 55 years and children below the age of 15 years.

The two types of Leukemia that can develop are; acute leukemia, which has the ability to develop quickly and worsen rapidly, and chronic leukemia, it takes its time to get from bad to worse.

What causes leukemia?

Leukemia is caused when the White Blood Cells (WBC’s) become damaged in some way. These cells are the immature blood cells of a person’s DNA. The damage to these cells causes them to grow and divide rapidly and continuously, such that there are too many of them. The abnormal cells don’t die off; they just accumulate and occupy space. Whereas healthy blood cells are replaced by new cells when they die, this process produces the vital bone marrow.

The undesired cancer cells multiply at an alarming rate and they stop the growth of new healthy white blood cells. They also harm the functioning of the current healthy cells and crowd the space in the blood.

After a short period of time the unhealthy cancer cells crowd out the good cells in the blood, and that is when the body take a turn for the worst.

What are the associated symptoms?

• High fever
• Constant fatigue and weakness
• Frequently developing infections
• Loss of weight
• Enlarging of the liver
•  Bleeding easily
• Frequent nosebleeds
• Red spots on skin
• Constant sweating (worse at night)
• Pain in bones

Leukemia symptoms are mostly not specific and often vague in nature. Overlooking them as common illnesses can prove to be very costly. And only in the rarest of occasions, leukemia is discovered during a blood test.

Diagnosis

If signs and symptoms are observed, doctors will conduct some diagnostic exams and tests, such as:

• PHYSICAL EXAM: Pale skin, lymph nodes swelling and enlargement of liver and spleen, will be checked for
• BLOOD TEST: Blood tests help in calculating the number of abnormal levels of red or white blood cells and even platelets
• BONE MARROW TEST: What does one find in the bone marrow test? Please mention that

Treatment options

Treatments used to fight leukemia include:

• CHEMOTHERAPY: Within this process, oncologists use aggressive chemicals that are specially designed to kill rapidly dividing cancer cells. The treatment is entirely based on the type of leukemia you have. Based on the diagnosis conducted by doctors, chemo will be used to either shrink a tumor before surgery or radiation therapy (known as neoadjuvant therapy).  Adjuvant therapy uses chemo after surgery or radiation therapy to kill any last surviving cancer cells.
• RADIATION THERAPY: Through the use of X-rays and high-energy beams, the leukemia cells are targeted, and their growth is stopped. It is a very high-tech way of getting rid of the damaged cells, sometime even using the energy of protons in the process. Unlike brachytherapy, where the radiation is placed inside your body, the other forms of therapy function by using machines to direct the radiation to areas of the body consisting of the leukemia cells.
• STEM CELL TRANSPLANT: This procedure involves the replacement of the diseased cells with healthy blood-forming cells. The radiation or high anticancer drug doses given to a patient can destroy the healthy blood-forming cells. Stem cell transplants are autologous (using the patient’s own cells saved before treatment), syngeneic (using cells donated by an identical twin), or allogeneic (using cells donated by a person who is not an identical twin). 

One should be careful of any changes in his/her body and immediately seek medical help, if suspicious symptoms are detected.

Turacoz Healthcare Solution, a medical communication company, believes that steps can be taken against leukemia with early diagnosis and the right treatment can be started immediately. Turacoz urges people to be more alert, active and vigilant and closely monitor their body.

Early diagnosis can reduce the risk of complications, which could be devastating and life threatening.