Leukemia: Cancer of the Bone Marrow

Sep 15, 2014

Leukemia, known as cancer of the blood cells, is an abnormal rise in the number of white blood cells. These white
blood cells crowd out other blood cells like the red blood cells and platelets. Remember that the white blood cells
fight infection, while the red blood cells carry oxygen and the platelets help blood to clot.



Leukemia is a term derived from the Greek words leukos and heima, meaning white blood
cells. Leukemis is the abnormal growing in numbers of the white blood cells in the bone
marrow. Thus, they are unable to fight infection the way which a normal white blood cell should
do. As these combines, they interfere with the functions of vital organs which also includes the
production of healthy blood cells. And when the body does not have enough red blood cell that
will supply oxygen, the enough platelets to ensure proper clotting and enough normal white
blood cells to fight body infections, it will result to being anemic and vulnerable to bleeding and
infection.







Leukemia is grouped by how quickly it develops (acute or chronic), or by the type of blood cell
that is affected (lymphocytes or myelocytes). Chronic leukemia means that the cells can still do
the work of normal white blodd cells but the cancer is slowly growing. While in acute leukemia,
the cells can't do any of the work because the cells increases rapidly which means it worsens
quickly.




Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)is the most common adult leukemia, affecting people
over the age of 55.

Acute lymphocytic or lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)affects lymphoid cells and
grows quickly. This is the most common type of leukemia among young children, but
also occurs in adults.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)usually grows slowly at first, and mainly affects
the adults. There will be few or no symptoms for the first few months, but the
leukemia cells grow quickly in a certain phase.

Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML)is a common type of leukemia that occurs in
both children and adults. AML is the most common acute leukemia in adults.





Both chronic and acute leukemia include symptoms like the following:




swollen lymph nodes that don't hurt

frequent infections

swelling or discomfort in the abdomen (may be from a swollen spleen or liver)

fevers or night sweats

feeling weak or tired

pain in the bones or joints

bleeding and bruising easily

weight loss or the loss of appetite with no known reason



Though these symptoms may appear, routine blood test will guarantee if one does have
leukemia. Aside from blood test, there are also other test to be done for the doctor to verify the
leukemia, and which type it would be.







Other tests to be done may include:




Physical exam- for swollen lymph nodes, spleen or liver.

Biopsy- wherein the doctor will get a sample of your tissue to know if the leukemia
cells are in your bone marrow already. Bone marrow aspirationis when the doctor
uses thick, hollow needle to get samples of bone marrow. But when the doctor
remove a small piece of bone and bone marrow, it is calledbone marrow biopsy.

Cytogenetics- This type of test looks at the choromosomes of cells from the
samples of blood, bone marrow and lymph nodes. If abnormal cells are found, then
the type of leukemia can be identified.

Spinal tap- It is the removing of the cerebrospinal fluid, which is found in and
around the brain and spinal cord, to check for leukemia cells.

Chest X-ray- Swollen lymph nodes or other signs of disease in the chest usually
shows in an x-ray.