Leukemia - Symptoms and Treatments

Leukemia is a malignant disorder (cancer) that originates and spreads in the blood and marrow. As in other type of cancers, leukemia is also characterized by the uncontrolled growth of cells in blood and marrow.

The severity of leukemia varies from acute to chronic depending upon its type. Among the many other types of leukemia, there are two major types of leukemia: myelogenous and lymphocytic leukemia, which indicates the cell types involved. If the bone marrow lymphocyte is the primary cause of production of abnormal blood cells, then the cancer is called lymphocytic leukemia. If the white blood cells that are multiplying are granulocytes or monocytes, then in that case it is myelogenous leukemia. These two types are again subdivided in two types each: acute myelogenous leukemia and chronic myelogenous leukemia under myelogenous leukemia, and acute lymphocytic leukemia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia under lymphocytic leukemia.

Among both the types of leukemia, acute leukemia rapidly progresses and it results in the development of immature and functionless cells in the marrow and blood. Acute leukemia takes very less time to develop and spread, whereas, the progress rate of chronic leukemia is very slow. The cells that are developed in the chronic leukemia are often mature and functionally active.

Because of uncontrolled growth of cells in the marrow, the production of normal red and white blood cells and platelets almost ceases. Slowly, the blood becomes deficient of red blood cells and anemia is developed in the patient. The body's immune system deteriorates because of lack of white blood cells, which otherwise helps us in fighting infections. The bleeding rate also increases in the patient as platelets start vanishing from blood and marrow.

Although not all the causes of leukemia are known, there are some causes that we can look for. Nowadays, as the pollution is increasing and use of chemicals in various parts of life has increased, people who come in contact with toxic chemicals, radiations, etc., are at a greater risk of developing leukemia. Heredity also plays a role to some extent, if a person has some kind of common syndromes which are related to hormones, then they are susceptible to leukemia.

Although symptoms of any disease vary from patient to patient, symptoms that we should be looking for in diagnosing leukemia are given below (the symptoms enlisted below are subjected to leukemia in general but not to a specific type of it).

Immune system of the patient goes on deteriorating day-by-day, and the patient experiences discomfort, fatigue, abnormal bleeding, enlarged spleen, fever, chill, flu-like condition, weight loss, problems with appetite, petechiae i.e., formation of tiny red spots under the skin, swollen, painful and bleeding gums, swelling of digestive tracks, testicles, etc. Some people face kidney problems and night swelling. In some types of leukemia, a patient may experience symptoms like sores in the eyes, frequent headaches, vomiting, etc. Along with these, there are many other symptoms that help in diagnosing leukemia. If you come across any of the above symptoms, you must visit your doctor as soon as possible.

There is advancement in leukemia treatments that are available. Chemotherapy and radiation are among the traditional treatments. Stem cell transplant is the most aggressive treatment against leukemia: in one technique, the stem cells are taken away from the patient and are preserved, and after intense use of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy to kill the cancer cells, the stem cells are given back to the patient. In other technique of treatment, the damaged bone marrow cells of a patient are replaced by new and healthy stem cells.