Leukemia popularly known as blood cancer, is the cancer of blood forming tissues, including bone marrow that affects all ages including children. This begins with the bone marrow and gradually starts affecting other cells. Leukemia is divided into acute leukemia (must be treated immediately) and Chronic leukemia (are monitored for some time). The two major types of Leukemia include Lymphocytic leukemia and Myelogenous leukemia.
Inherited and environmental factors are considered to be the cause of blood cancer, even though the exact cause is unknown. The common symptoms of leukemia include cough, chest pain, frequent infections, fever, unexplained rash, bruising or bleeding, itchy skin, loss of appetite, night sweats, persistent weakness and fatigue, shortness of breath, swollen, painless lymph nodes in the neck, armpits or groin. Major diagnostic methods include bone marrow biopsy, blood test, CT-Scan, X-ray, and PET scan along with clinical evaluation.
Early diagnosis can lead to effective treatment. Age of the patient, physical condition, stage of the disease, molecular factors, acute or chronic and whether the disease in new onset or not are some factors that affect the treatment of Leukemia. Some of the bool cancer treatments include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, bone marrow transplant, targeted therapy, stem cell transplant, immune therapy, cancer surgery. There have been many advancements in the field of immune therapy. If treatment is delayed, survival is at risk. Even though blood cancer is life threatening, it has a high curability rate due to advancements in the medical field. To a certain extent, healthy lifestyle and advised treatment can prevent Leukemia.
