What is leukemia, what is its cause, what does a leukemia patient feel, what are the symptoms of leukemia, and what are the risk factors that increase the chances of developing it?
What is leukemia?
Leukemia or leukemia is a type of cancer of the blood cells and tissues that produce blood cells such as the bone marrow.
Normally, blood cells originate in the bone marrow as stem cells, and later mature to form different types of blood cells (red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets), and move into the bloodstream.
As for those who suffer from leukemia, their bone marrow begins to produce abnormal white blood cells that enter the bloodstream and begin to compete with normal, healthy blood cells, preventing them from performing their functions properly, according to the King Hussein Cancer Foundation in Jordan.
What is the cause of leukemia?
Leukemia begins when the DNA (DNA) of a single cell in the bone marrow changes and cannot develop and function normally (DNA is the "instruction code" for cell growth and function. Pieces of DNA make up genes, which are arranged on larger structures called chromosomes ) and all cells that arise from that mutated primary cell also have mutated DNA.
What causes DNA damage in the first place is still not known in all cases.
But scientists were able to identify changes in specific chromosomes of patients diagnosed with different types of leukemia.
That's according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Risk factors that increase the chances of developing leukemia, according to the King Hussein Cancer Foundation
Exposure to high levels of radiation.
smoking.
Exposure to benzene (used in the chemical industries, and in cigarette smoke).
Certain types of chemotherapy drugs such as (Etoposide) and drugs known as (Alkylating Agents).
Myelodysplastic Syndrome and other types of blood disorders.
How does a leukemia patient feel?
How a leukemia patient feels — symptoms of leukemia — depends in part on the type of leukemia he or she has, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Symptoms of leukemia
Feeling tired easily, feeling low on energy, and weak.
pale skin color;
Fever.
Ease of bruising and bleeding.
Small red spots on the skin (called petechiae) and purple spots on the skin.
Bone or joint pain.
Swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, groin, or stomach.
Enlarged spleen or liver.
frequent infection;
Unexplained weight loss.
Night sweats.
Shortness of breath.
Pain or a feeling of fullness under the ribs on the left side.
Loss of appetite or feeling full after eating little food.
Abdominal bloating and discomfort.
Swelling and bleeding in the gums.
Keep in mind that if you have a chronic form of leukemia, you may not have any noticeable symptoms in the early stages of this cancer.
types of leukemia
Acute leukemia
It grows and worsens very quickly, and may be life-threatening.
In this type, the bone marrow begins producing large numbers of immature white blood cells called blasts, which enter the bloodstream.
These immature cells quickly compete with the normal cells in the bloodstream and do not do their job of fighting infection, stopping bleeding or causing anemia, making the body very weak.
The two most common types of acute leukemia are:
ALL acute lymphocytic leukemia.
AML acute myelogenous leukemia.
Chronic leukemia
It develops slowly and worsens gradually, and symptoms may take a long time before they appear.
Sometimes chronic leukemia is diagnosed (through routine screening) even before any symptoms appear, because the cancer cells in this case are mature enough to function as normal white blood cells, before they start to progress.
types of chronic leukemia
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).
capillary cell leukemia
There is another type called hairy cell leukemia, which is a rare type that is named according to how it looks under a microscope.
This type of leukemia mostly affects the elderly, and men more than women, and its most common symptoms include weakness and fatigue due to anemia.
Can a leukemia patient be cured?
From a scientific standpoint, the Cleveland Clinic says, recovery is a hopeful, yet difficult goal in the field of cancer.
Have you been "cured" after 5 years of being free of cancer?
Or after 10 years?
And does treatment mean that you no longer have any negative effects on your quality of life?
Cancer researchers are usually more comfortable talking about achieving long-term remission (the state after diagnosis and treatment where cancer has not been detected in the body) if you've been diagnosed with cancer.
Children and teens, young adults, and people who are otherwise healthy with few other illnesses generally have the best results.
Acute lymphocytic leukemia represents one of the most dramatic success stories in cancer treatment.
According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, approximately 90% of children and 40% of adults diagnosed with ALL can expect a long-term recovery.
It's best if your health care team answers the question, "Have I cured my leukemia?", according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Cure rate of leukemia
First: see the previous paragraph.
Second: The National Cancer Institute in the United States provides a 5-year survival rate for the four main types of leukemia, as follows:
ALL acute lymphocytic leukemia 68.6%.
AML acute myelogenous leukemia 28.3%.
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) 85.1 %.
CML chronic myelogenous leukemia 69.2%.
Does leukemia lead to death?
See the previous question.
leukemia diagnosis
Your doctor will perform a physical exam, order blood tests, and, if the results are suspicious, order imaging tests and a bone marrow biopsy.
physical examination
Your doctor will ask you about any symptoms you're experiencing and check for swollen lymph nodes.
Your doctor may also look at your gums to see if they are swollen or bleeding, looking for bruising or small red skin rashes (petechiae) and signs of an enlarged spleen.
You may not have many or any obvious symptoms if you have early-stage chronic leukemia.
Symptoms can also be relatively common for many other illnesses, such as feeling tired or having flu-like symptoms that don't improve.
Complete blood count (CBC)
This blood test gives details about red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
If you have leukemia, you will have lower than normal red blood cell and platelet counts and higher than normal white blood cell counts.
Some leukemia cells may be found.
blood cell examination
Other blood samples may be taken and examined to determine the type and shape of blood cells and checked for other substances secreted by the body's organs and tissues that may be signs of disease.
Other tests may help identify chromosomal abnormalities and other markers on cells that help determine the type of leukemia.
Bone marrow biopsy
Also called bone marrow aspiration, if your white blood cell count is abnormal, your doctor will obtain a sample of your bone marrow cells.
During this procedure, a long needle is used to withdraw some fluid from your bone marrow, usually from an area near your hip.
Then the laboratory examines the blood cells in the fluid under a microscope.
A bone marrow biopsy helps determine the percentage of abnormal cells in the bone marrow, which confirms a diagnosis of leukemia.
Imaging and other tests
Your doctor may order a chest X-ray, CT scan, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. If you have symptoms that suggest a complication of leukemia, he or she may order a lumbar puncture (also called a spinal tap) to see if the cancer has spread to the fluid The spinal cord surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
blood cancer treatment
Treatments for leukemia depend on the type of leukemia you have, your age and general health, and whether the leukemia has spread to other organs or tissues.
There are 5 common treatment categories, including:
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy are chemicals (drugs) given to a person that kill leukemia cells or prevent them from dividing.
Usually a combination of chemotherapy drugs is used.
This is the most common form of treatment for leukemia.
radiotherapy
This treatment uses powerful beams of energy to kill leukemia cells or stop them from growing.
The radiation is directed to the exact sites on your body where a group of cancer cells are located, or it can be given over your entire body as part of a hematopoietic cell transplant.
Immunotherapy
This treatment, also called biological therapy, uses certain medications to boost the body's defense system - the immune system - to fight leukemia.
Immunological therapies include interferon, interleukins, and CAR-T cell therapy.
Targeted therapy
This treatment uses medications that focus on specific features of the leukemia cells.
Targeted therapies work by preventing leukemia cells from multiplying and dividing, cutting off the blood supply needed for cells to survive, or killing cells directly.
Hematopoietic cell transplant (also known as stem cell or bone marrow transplant)
This procedure replaces new, healthy hematopoietic cells with hematopoietic cancer cells that have been killed by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or either.
These healthy cells are taken from you (before exposure to chemotherapy or radiotherapy) or from donor blood or bone marrow and infused back into your blood.
Healthy blood-forming cells grow and multiply, forming new bone marrow and blood cells that develop into all the different types of cells your body needs (red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets).
If the cells are taken from a different person (a donor), the new immune system recognizes the cancer cells as foreign and kills them (similar to other immunotherapies).
leukemia symptoms pictures
In these infographics, we review some of the symptoms of leukemia, and many other details.