Leukemia, generally called Blood Cancer, is an abnormal excessive proliferation of white blood cells in the blood or bone marrow. It is generally divided into acute and chronic types. Children mostly suffer from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, while adults mostly suffer from acute myeloid lymphocytic leukemia. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia mostly affects people over 60 to 70 years old.
Abnormal proliferation of white blood cells will reduce or hinder the production of other normal components in the blood, resulting in anemia, weakened resistance to disease and bacteria, and bleeding, which can easily lead to death.
Symptoms of Leukemia
- Unexplained fever and high fever that persists (fever lasts for more than three days).
- Pale face due to reduced red blood cells and hemoglobin, resulting in anemia.
- Tired easily. The child may limp or be reluctant to stand.
- Bleeding easily, such as nosebleeds and oral and gum bleeding. Or bruises and purple spots may appear on the skin due to subcutaneous bleeding.
- Easily susceptible to colds and bacterial infections.
- Swollen lymph nodes, usually in the neck or armpits.
- Joint pain, especially above and below the knee, is often mistaken for arthritis .
- Enlarged organs, such as a swollen upper abdomen in children, may mean that the liver and spleen have been invaded by leukemia cells.
Causes of Leukemia
Leukemia occurs when the body produces large and abnormal amounts of blood cells. In most leukemias, the abnormal cells are white blood cells. Leukemia cells often look different from normal cells, and they do not function normally. The cause of leukemia is currently unknown. Some studies have reported that it may be related to radiation exposure and chemicals such as benzene. Viruses are also considered to be one of the causes of leukemia.
Prevention
Avoid contact with chemicals and exposure to radiation.
Treating Leukemia
acute leukemia requires immediate treatment. Often multiple treatments must be given to prevent recurrence. Many patients with acute leukemia can be cured; however, the treatment of chronic leukemia is not as effective as drug treatment of acute leukemia, and Drug treatment can often only alleviate the patient’s symptoms or control the progression of leukemia.
Generally, if acute leukemia is not treated, death will occur in about 3 months, and it will not become chronic. Because most of the blood cells of patients with chronic leukemia are immature, about 80% to 90% of chronic patients will turn into acute leukemia over a period of time. The treatment of leukemia is mainly through chemotherapy, combined with radiation therapy and bone marrow transplantation.
