What is leukemia?

 Leukemia:

Leukemia is a blood cancer caused by an increase in the number of white blood cells in the body. 

 These white blood cells cluster the red blood cells and platelets that your body needs to stay healthy. Extra white blood cells do not work properly.

Leukemia

Symptoms of Leukemia:

Different types of leukemia can cause a variety of problems. In the early stages of some forms, you may not notice the signs. If you have symptoms, you may have the following symptoms: 

•  Weakness or malaise
•  Easy to bruise or bleed 
•  Fever or chills 
•  Severe or recurrent infections 
•  Bone and joint pain 
•  headache 
•  Vomiting 
•  Seizures 
•  Weight loss 
•  Night sweats 
•  Dyspnea 
•  Swelling of organs such as lymph nodes and spleen

Risk Factor of Leukemia:

No one knows exactly what causes leukemia. The person who has it has a specific abnormal chromosome, which does not cause leukemia. 

 Leukemia cannot be prevented, but certain things can cause it. The risk may be higher if: 

•  smoke 
•  Exposed to strong radiation or certain chemicals 
•  Received radiation therapy or chemotherapy to treat the cancer 
•  Do you have a family history of leukemia? 
•  Do you have a hereditary disease such as Down Syndrome?

Types of Leukemia:

The main types of leukemia are: 

 Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL):

 This is the most common type of leukemia in young children. ALL can also occur in adults.

  Acute myeloid leukemia (AML):

 AML is a common type of leukemia. It occurs in both children and adults. AML is the most common form of acute leukemia in adults.

  Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL):

 With CLL, the most common chronic leukemia in adults, you will feel better for years without the need for treatment. 

 Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML):

 This type of leukemia mainly affects adults. People with CML may have few or no symptoms for months or years before the leukemia cells enter the stage of faster growth. Other types. 

There are other rare types of leukemia, such as

•  Hairy cell leukemia
•  Myelodysplastic syndrome
•  Myeloproliferative disorders.

Classification of Leukemia:

Doctors classify leukemias based on their rate of progression and the types of cells involved. 

 The first type of classification is due to the rapid progression of leukemia: 

 Acute leukemia:

 In acute leukemia,  abnormal blood cells are immature blood cells (precursor cells). They fail to perform their normal functions, grow rapidly, and exacerbate the disease rapidly. Acute leukemia requires aggressive and timely treatment.

 Acute leukemia

  Chronic leukemia:

 There are many types of chronic leukemia. Some produce too many cells, while others produce too few. 

 Chronic leukemia

Chronic leukemia affects more mature blood cells. These blood cells are slow to replicate or accumulate and can function normally for some time. Some forms of chronic leukemia do not initially cause early symptoms and can be overlooked or undiagnosed for years.  The second type of classification is based on the type of white blood cells affected.

 Lymphocytic leukemia:

 This type of leukemia affects the lymphoid tissue or the lymph cells (lymphocytes) that make up the lymphoid tissue. Lymphoid tissue makes up your immune system.  Myelogenous (my-uh-LOHJ-uh-nus) leukemia.

 Lymphocytic leukemia

 This type of leukemia affects bone marrow cells. Bone marrow cells give rise to red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelet-producing cells.

Treatment of Leukemia:

The treatment you receive depends on the type of leukemia you have, how widespread it is, and how healthy you are. The main options are: 

•  Chemotherapy 
•  radiation 
•  Biological therapy 
•  Target therapy 
•  Stem cell transplant 
•  Surgery

Chemotherapy:

Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells in the blood and bone marrow. You can get  medicine: 

 by vein or muscle shot 

 As a tablet 

 In fluids around the  spinal cord 

Radiation:

 Radiation uses high-energy x-rays to kill or prevent the growth of leukemia cells. You can get it anywhere, or just on a part of your body that is full of cancer cells. 

Biological Therapy:

 Biological therapy, also known as immunotherapy, helps the immune system find and attack cancer cells. Drugs such as interleukins and interferon help increase the body's natural defenses against leukemia. 

Target Therapy:

 Targeted therapy uses drugs to block specific genes and proteins needed for the growth of cancer cells. This treatment can stop the signals that leukemia cells use for growth and division, cut off the blood supply, or kill them altogether. 

Stem Cell Transplant:

 Stem cell transplantation replaces leukemia cells in the bone marrow with new hematopoietic cells. Your doctor can get new stem cells from your own body or donor. First, you will receive high-dose chemotherapy to destroy cancer cells in the bone marrow. Then, one of the veins receives new stem cells via IV. They grow into new healthy blood cells.

Surgery:

If the spleen is filled with cancer cells and is compressing nearby organs, the doctor may remove the spleen. This procedure is called a splenectomy.

Diagnosis of Leukemia:

Your doctor should check your blood or bone marrow for signs of leukemia. Tests that can be performed include a blood test. Complete blood count (CBC) looks at the number and maturity of different types of blood cells. A blood smear looks for abnormal or immature cells.  Bone marrow biopsy.

 In this test, a long needle is used to remove the bone marrow from the pelvis. It can tell your doctor what kind of leukemia you have and how severe it is. Spine tap. This includes water from the spinal cord. You can tell your doctor if leukemia is widespread. Image inspection. CT, MRI,  PET scans, etc. can detect signs of leukemia.

How Does Leukemia Happen?

There are three types of cells in the blood. White blood cells fight infection, red blood cells carry oxygen, and platelets help blood clot. 

 Every day, your bone marrow makes billions of new blood cells,  most of which are red blood cells. When you have leukemia, your body makes more white blood cells than it needs. 

 These leukemia cells cannot fight infections like normal white blood cells. And because they are so numerous, they begin to affect the way your organs work. Over time, you may lose enough red blood cells to carry oxygen,  platelets to coagulate blood, or normal white blood cells to fight the infection.

Coagulate blood