Leukemia is a blood cancer that is commonly thought of as a disorder that primarily affects children. According to the Mayo Clinic, while some forms of leukemia do affect children, it is a disease that can strike anyone at any age. The most common ways used to diagnose leukemia are a blood sample, a bone marrow sample and a physical examination.
Identification
Leukemia is a cancer that causes the bone marrow to create a large number of dysfunctional white blood cells. White blood cells are very important to the general health of the body as they are the primary cells used to fight disease. Bone marrow that is affected by leukemia will produce white blood cells that are incapable of fighting disease, and the over-abundance of defective white blood cells starts to have an adverse affect on the blood stream which causes serious problems for the rest of the body.
Effects
Leukemia has different forms that display slightly different symptoms in most cases. However there is a series of symptoms that are commonly displayed in most leukemia patients. Flu-like symptoms such as a fever accompanied by the chills, excessive sweating especially at night, a general achy feeling all over the body and fatigue could all be early signs of leukemia. Other early symptoms include the tendency to bruise easily, persistent infections that do not seem to go away, a loss of appetite accompanied by a noticeable loss of weight and a shortness of breath after brief physical activity.
Types
Acute leukemia is a form of leukemia that can strike quickly and appear to progress at a very rapid pace. The symptoms may seem to worsen over a period of days, and the most commonly affected areas would be the brain and the spine. Some of the symptoms of acute leukemia include a nausea accompanied by vomiting, severe headaches, an unexplained loss of muscle control and vision problems such as temporary blindness or blurred vision. Unexplained and painful red rashes with open sores may also develop rapidly.
Considerations
Chronic leukemia may take months, or even years, to show symptoms. According to the University of California, it is common for a doctor to find chronic leukemia as the result of a standard medical exam before any symptoms are even shown. When symptoms become evident, they will start off minor, then gradually grow into more severe symptoms. Some of the symptoms include nausea and vomiting and a skin rash that starts of in a small localized area, then slowly grows to a larger size over time.
Prevention/Solution
Treating leukemia may require a combination of treatments. Some of the more common treatments used to combat the condition are chemotherapy medication, radiation treatment and a bone marrow transplant. A doctor will determine which treatment is appropriate based on whether the condition is acute or chronic and how far the condition has advanced.
Tags: blood cells, bone marrow, white blood, cancer that, include nausea, Some symptoms