About Leukaemia Cancer
Leukaemia is a cancer of blood cells. It begins in the bone marrow which are the soft tissues inside the bones. Most often, it is a cancer of white blood cells but some leukaemia start in other blood cells types. It produces abnormal white blood cells called leukaemia cells. These abnormal blood cells grow faster than normal blood cells and do not stop when they are supposed to.
There are several types of Leukaemia. In general, Leukaemia can be grouped into two broad categories:
- Acute or Chronic: Acute Leukaemia gets worse in a short time period and may make you feel sick right away. Chronic Leukaemia gets worse slowly and may not cause symptoms for years.
- Lymphocytic or Myelogenous: Lymphocytic leukaemia affects white blood cells. Myelogenous leukaemia affects white blood cells called myelocytes.
Types of Leukaemia include:
- Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL)
- Acute Myelogenous Leukaemia (AML)
- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia ( CLL)
- Chronic Myelogenous Leukaemia (CML)
Causes of Leukaemia
The exact cause of leukaemia is still not known, however there are few risk factors which increase the risk of certain kinds of leukaemia. These include:
- Certain genetic disorders like down syndrome are associated with increased risk of leukemia.
- People exposed to high level of radiations . Nuclear reactor, for instance.
- Certain Chemical Exposure like Benzene.
- Viral Infections.
- Smoking and tobacco use is associated with acute myelogenous leukemia.
- People with medical conditions like Pneumonia, sinusitis, chronic osteoarthritis etc. have a slightly higher risk of developing leukemia.
- Family history.
Symptoms:
Common Symptoms of acute or chronic leukaemia may include:
- Swelling and pain on the left side of the abdomen
- Swollen lymph nodes that usually don't hurt
- Frequent bleeding from the gums or rectum and heavy menstrual bleeding
- Feeling Weak or tired
- Weight Loss or loss of appetite for no known reason
- Fever or Night Sweats
- Bone pain
