Sunday, September 29, 2013

Leukemia

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

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