Leukemia: Symptoms, Types, Causes & Treatments

Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the blood-forming cells present in the bone marrow. There are several types of Leukemia, of which some affect children, and the rest occurs in adults. Cancer is often referred to as the uncontrollable growth of cells, which can develop at any part of the body. But when it comes to Leukemia, the abnormal growth of cells happens in the bone marrow.

The bone marrow produces an abnormal or excessive amount of white blood cells, which stops its functioning property in the usual way. There are several types of Leukemia, and some types can be highly complex to understand. Let's discuss the different types of Leukemia, the various symptoms it shows, and the treatment methods used to treat Leukemia.

Symptoms

In the early stages of certain Leukemia types, there can be no such signs at all. The symptoms of Leukemia differ from person to person, and the symptoms also depend on the person's age.

Some of the most common symptoms are:

• Fever or sudden chills

• Fatigue

• Bleeding excessively and easily

• Joint pains or pains in the bones

• Vomiting

• Headaches

• Shortness of breath

• Weight loss

• Tiny red spots on the skin

• Nosebleeds

• Swollen lymph nodes and enlargement of liver or spleen

• Excessive sweating at night

If you are having one or two of the symptoms mentioned above, it is not necessary that your body is affected by Leukemia. It can be the result of some other disease or side effects of medication as well. That is why it is more helpful to consult an expert before coming to an uncertain conclusion.

Causes

There is no scientific explanation behind the cause of Leukemia in a person. The person getting affected by it might have an unusual set of a chromosome or some health conditions. But by considering certain cases, scientists have concluded that an amalgamation of several environmental and genetic factors can lead to the development of Leukemia in a person.

Types

The classification of Leukemia is done by two methods. While some are divided based on the speed of growth, the other types are differentiated based on the types of cells involved.

The speed of Leukemia growth:

• Acute Leukemia

• Chronic Leukemia

The cell type:

• Lymphocytic Leukemia

• Myelogenous Leukemia

The major types of Leukemia are:

• Acute lymphocytic Leukemia: (ALL) is one of the most common types of Leukemia, affecting children and adults in most cases. It might spread across the central nervous system and lymph nodes. 

• Acute myelogenous Leukemia (AML) is the second most frequent form of childhood Leukemia and one of the most common ones among adults. It creates problems in the production of new white and red blood cells as well as platelets.

• Chronic lymphocytic Leukemia: (CLL) develops among adults, and some of its kinds might not need treatment for a long time, while some demand an immediate course of treatment. This type of cancer affects a type of white blood cells known as the B cells.

• Chronic myelogenous Leukemia: (CML) develops mainly in people aged 65 or above. It often does not show any such symptoms and gets detected randomly during a routine blood test.

Some other rare types of Leukemia are Hairy cell Leukemia, Myelodysplastic syndromes, and Myeloproliferative disorders.

Treatment

The treatment procedure often depends on several factors, such as the type of Leukemia the patient is suffering from, how far it has spread in the body, and whether they have any other health conditions.

The main methods of treatment are:

• Chemotherapy: This is the most common method for treating Leukemia. In chemotherapy, drugs are injected into a vein or muscle or into the fluid present around the spinal cord. In some cases, the patient needs to consume it as a pill as well. This process kills the cancer cells of the blood as well as of the bone marrow.

• Radiation Therapy: This treatment method uses strong radiation beams to destroy the Leukemia cells, which will further repress their growth.

• Biological Therapy: Also known as Immunotherapy, certain drugs are injected into the body to boost the immunity system, which will further help fight Leukemia.

• Targeted Therapy: This method uses certain medicines to destroy specific targeted features of Leukemia cells.

• Stem cell transplant: Also referred to as bone marrow transplant or hematopoietic cell transplant, this method replaces the cancerous cells that have been killed due to chemotherapy or radiation therapy with healthy stem cells collected from a donor.

Ending Note

There are no such options to prevent Leukemia from affecting a person. Therefore, the best chance to stay healthy and fit is by consulting with a doctor from time to time and going through complete checkups at regular intervals.