Blood Cancer (Leukemia)

What is Blood Cancer (Leukemia)?

One of the most dreaded types of cancer is blood cancer, also known as leukemia. This type of cancer actually affects the blood cells by mutating the white blood cells. The bone marrow of the body produces white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. Each of the cells work together to make up the blood inside the body. When someone has cancer of the blood, or leukemia, the bone marrow begins to product white blood cells that are abnormal. While these white blood cells may act almost normally at first, later on they may begin to crowd out the other blood cells, which can make it hard for the blood to do its’ job.

Blood Cancer Types

Blood cancer (leukemia) is classified in several different ways. First of all there is chronic leukemia, in which the white blood cells start out normal and slowly grow worse over time. There is also acute leukemia, in which the white blood cells are immediately abnormal and cannot function as they should. Acute leukemia gets worse much faster than chronic leukemia. There are also several types of blood cancer (leukemia) that are grouped into types depending on the type of white blood cell they affect. The four common types of leukemia include chronic lymphocytic leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, acute lymphocytic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia. Another very rare type of blood cancer is hairy cell leukemia.

Blood Cancer Statistics

Statistics show that there are more than 25,000 new cases of blood cancer (leukemia) diagnosed every single year. Around 7,000 of these are chronic lymphocytic leukemia and more than 4,000 are chronic myeloid leukemia. Each year about 3,800 cases of acute lymphocytic leukemia are diagnosed and the most common type of blood cancer is acute myeloid leukemia, with more than 10,000 cases diagnosed every year.

Causes of Blood Cancer

While no one cause for blood cancer (leukemia) has been found, there are several things that doctors seem to think may cause it to occur. First of all, people who are around levels of radiation that are quite high seem to be at a higher risk than others for the disease. Working with certain chemicals, such as formaldehyde and benzene seem to increase the risk. In some cases, people who have had chemotherapy treatments may also be at risk for this type of cancer. People with genetic diseases, such as Downs Syndrome, that cause the chromosomes to be abnormal often have a higher risk too.

Blood Cancer Symptoms

There are a variety of different symptoms that come along with blood cancer (leukemia). Some of the most common symptoms of this cancer include having night sweats or frequent fevers, headaches, weakness and fatigue and frequent infections. Many people also experience easy bleeding and bruising, pain in the joints and the bones, weight loss and swollen lymph nodes. Blood tests are often used to diagnose the condition and the tests take a look at the number of white blood cells that are present.

Blood Cancer Treatments

Quite a few treatments for blood cancer (leukemia) exist; however, none of them are guaranteed to get rid of the problem forever. Chemotherapy is one of the most common treatments for leukemia and it can be administered through IV or into the spinal cord. Biological therapy and radiation are often used as treatments as well. Stem cell transplantation, such as bone marrow transplants are often used quite effectively for treatment too; however, they can be quite painful.

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