Leukemia is the cancer of blood cells in which it starts in
the bone marrow, where blood cells are made.
Leukemia causes your bone marrow to make a lot of abnormal
white blood cells. They don’t have the same function as normal white blood
cells; they grow faster and don’t stop growing. The leukemia cells can crowd out
the normal blood cells and cause anemia, bleeding, and infections.
Risk Factors:
being exposed to large amounts of radiation
Being exposed to certain chemicals
Having some type of chemotherapy
Having down syndrome or other genetic problems
Smoking
Symptoms: Fever and
night sweats
Headaches
Bruising/bleeding easily
Bone/joint pain
Swollen lymph nodes in armpit, neck, groin
Swollen/painful belly from enlarged spleen
Diagnosis:
Physical exam- look for swollen lymph nodes and if spleen or
liver is enlarged
Blood test- abnormal level of white blood cells
Bone marrow biopsy- what time of leukemia?
Treatment:
Chemotherapy
Radiation treatments
Stem cell transplant
Biological therapy
