To Know More about Leukemia
A blood cancer called leukaemia is characterised by the quick development of abnormal blood cells. Your bone marrow, where the majority of your body’s blood is produced, is where this excessive growth occurs. Leukemia typically doesn’t create a mass (tumour) that may be seen on imaging tests like X-rays or CT scans, unlike other cancers.
The delicate, spongy bone marrow, where your body creates blood cells, is where leukaemia first manifests itself. Before becoming fully developed, blood cells go through several phases. mature, healthy blood cells consist of:
Red blood cells: Cells that transport oxygen and other essential substances to all of your body’s tissues and organs.
White blood cells: Immune system defence cells. Platelets: Cells that are conducive to blood clotting
Symptoms
The type of leukaemia can be detected by some of the following symptoms. In the early stages of a chronic form of leukaemia, for example, you might not notice any symptoms.
Common leukaemia warning signs and symptoms include:
- fatigue; easily gets tired;
- fever or sweats at night;
- respiration difficulty;
- Unaccounted-for weight loss;
- joint or bone discomfort or pain; and/or
- on the left side, feel a pain or a fullness under your ribcage.
Types of Leukemia
The four primary kinds of leukaemia are as follows:
a) Acute Lymphocytic Leukaemia (ALL): The most prevalent form of leukaemia in children, teenagers, and young adults up to age 39 is acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL). Adults of any age can be impacted by ALL.
b) Acute Myelogenous Leukaemia (AML): The most prevalent form of acute leukaemia in adults is acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML). Older folks are more susceptible to it (those over 65). AML can also affect youngsters.
c) Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL): The most prevalent chronic leukaemia in adults is chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) (most common in people over 65). With CLL, symptoms may take years to manifest.
d) Chronic Myelogenous Leukaemia (CML): Adults of any age can develop chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML), but older adults are more likely to get it (those over 65 are most at risk). Children hardly ever experience it. With CML, symptoms could not show up for several years.
Causes and Increased Risks of Leukemia
Leukemia can strike anyone. Nevertheless, research suggests that a few circumstances, such as the following, may raise your risk:
- Prior Cancer Therapy: The probability that you’ll get some types of leukaemia may increase if you’ve already undergone radiation or chemotherapy for cancer.
- Smoking: You run a higher risk of getting acute myelogenous leukaemia if you’ve ever smoked or have been among people who do.
- Industrial Chemical Exposure Chemicals known to cause cancer like benzene and formaldehyde are present in many household products and building materials. Plastics, rubber, dyes, insecticides, pharmaceuticals, and detergents are all made from benzoene. Building supplies and home goods including soaps, shampoos, and cleaning supplies contain formaldehyde.
- Leukemia History in the Family: According to research, certain types of leukaemia may run in families. However, in most circumstances, having a family member with leukaemia does not guarantee that you or another member of your family will also develop the disease. If you or a member of your family suffers from a genetic disorder, let your doctor know. To determine your risk, they might advise genetic testing.
Diagnosis and Treatment
The ways and procedures that could aid in diagnosing this disease include :
A complete blood count, blood cell examination, bone marrow biopsy, imaging and other tests (chest X-ray, CT scan, MRI scan) or a lumbar puncture a.k.a spinal tap.
The type of leukaemia you have, your age, general health, and whether the disease has spread to other organs or tissues all affect how you are treated.
Combinations of the following are frequent treatments:
1. Chemotherapy :
The most popular method of treating leukaemia is chemotherapy. It entails the use of chemicals to eradicate leukaemia cells or prevent their regrowth. You might be given the drugs (medicine) intravenously, as a shot beneath your skin, or as a pill during treatment.
2. Immunotherapy :
To combat leukaemia, this treatment uses certain medications to strengthen your immune system. Your immune system can better recognise cancer cells and make more immune cells to combat them with the aid of immunotherapy.
3. Targeted Therapy :
In this procedure, medications are used to target specific leukaemia cell components (such as a protein or gene) that are causing them to outnumber healthy blood cells. Targeted treatments may stop leukaemia cells from proliferating, cut off their blood supply, or directly destroy the cells. Targeted therapy has a lower risk of damaging healthy cells.
4. Radiation Therapy :
Strong energy beams or X-rays are used in this procedure to either destroy leukaemia cells or limit their growth. A machine uses radiation to either cover your entire body with radiation during therapy or precisely target the locations in your body where the cancer cells are.
5. Bone Marrow Transplant
With this therapy, new, healthy hematopoietic cells are used to replace the malignant blood-forming cells that chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy killed. Before chemo and radiation, your healthcare professional may take these healthy cells from your blood or bone marrow, or they may come from a donor. Your body needs red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, which are created when healthy new cells grow and make new bone marrow and blood cells.
Conclusion
Leukemia cannot be cured, however, this does not exclude some patients from going into long-term remission. Leukemia can be cured if the cancer is gone, it won’t return, and no further therapy is required. However, it might be challenging to determine with leukaemia.
On the other side, long-term remission indicates that cancer has completely disappeared, treatment or not. The length of remission might range from a few weeks to many years. Leukemia might never come back. If it does, your doctor can suggest trying new therapies to put the condition into remission.
