Leukemia - it is not a sentence

September 21, 2008

  • Leukemia - it is not a sentence
  • Basic provisions
  • Causes
  • Kinds
  • As shown
  • Treatment

 leukemia
 Leukemia - a general name of a group of malignant diseases affecting cells involved in hematopoiesis, including the bone marrow and mature blood cells.

In the body of a healthy person's bone marrow produces:

  • White blood cells, or white blood cells, which help the body fight infections
  • Red blood cells or red blood cells, which are responsible for transporting oxygen
  • Platelets that make blood can clot

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What is leukemia?

A person suffering from leukemia, the bone marrow produces many abnormal white blood cells, called leukemia cells. They do not perform the function of normal white blood cells grow much faster, and their growth does not stop when it should stay in healthy cells.

Over time, the leukemia cells can displace healthy blood cells. This leads to serious problems such as anemia, bleeding, and various infections. Leukemic cells can penetrate into the lymph nodes or other organs, causing pain, or forming a tumor.

There are several types of leukemia. In general, all cases of leukemia vary in the rate of development of the disease and by the way, exactly what it affects white blood cells.

Firstly, Leukemia can be acute or chronic. In acute leukemia, the patient's condition is deteriorating rapidly. Chronic leukemia may be asymptomatic for several years.

Secondly, it happens lymphoblastic and myeloid leukemia. When lymphoblastic leukemia struck by leukocytes; with myeloid leukemia - myelocytes, cells present in the bone marrow, which give rise to leukocytes.

Thus, there are four main types of leukemia:

  • Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
  • Acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
  • Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
  • Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)

In adults, the most common CLL and AML. The most common type of leukemia in children Leukemia in children - save early diagnosis!  Leukemia in children - save early diagnosis!
   - ALL. There are also less common forms of leukemia, such as hairy cell leukemia, and others.

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What causes leukemia

Scientists have been studying this issue, but still could not find an answer. However, there are factors which influence increases the risk of leukemia:

  • Prolonged exposure to radiation
  • Contact with chemicals such as benzene
  • Chemotherapy that patient was to treat other cancers
  • Down syndrome and certain other genetic disorders
  • Smoking

It will be appreciated that these factors may increase the chance of developing leukemia. However, most people exposed to those or other risk factors do not develop leukemia, and most of the people infected by it, do not belong to risk groups.

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The symptoms of leukemia

Symptoms depend largely on the type of leukemia, but the most common ones are:

  • Heat and sweating at night
  • Headache
  • Frequent bruising, bleeding
  • Pain in the bones or joints
  • Bloating or abdominal pain due to the increased spleen
  • Enlarged lymph nodes in the armpits, on the neck and in the groin
  • Increased susceptibility to infections
  • Increased fatigue
  • Weight loss in the absence or weak expression of hunger

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Diagnostics

After the usual medical examination of the patient's blood is taken for analysis. If the results show abnormally high levels of white blood cells, as is the case with leukemia, a bone marrow biopsy. It is necessary to confirm the diagnosis and determine what type of leukemia a patient is sick. Only then can prescribe medication.

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Leukemia Treatment

The choice of treatment depends on many factors, including the type of leukemia, the stage of the disease, the patient's age and general state of health.

In acute leukemia, treatment should begin as soon as possible to stop the rapid growth of leukemic cells. In many cases it is possible to cause remission - some doctors prefer to use the term "remission" rather than "recovery", because there is a chance that the cancer will return.

Chronic leukemia is rarely possible to cure, but with the help of therapy can be monitored for the disease.

Patients with chronic leukemia usually begin to cure only after the onset of symptoms, and only in case of chronic myeloid leukemia treatment sometimes start immediately after diagnosis.

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The main methods of treating leukemia

  • Chemotherapy, in which use powerful drugs to kill cancer cells
  • Radiation therapy or radiotherapy - by means of a strong X-ray radiation or other cancer cells are destroyed and enlarged lymph nodes and spleen become smaller. This therapy is sometimes used before stem cell transplantation
  • Stem cell transplantation Stem cells: on the edge of scandal  Stem cells: on the edge of scandal
 . Stem cells can restore the production of healthy blood cells and enhance the immune system. Before transplantation is commonly used chemotherapy or radiotherapy to destroy part of the bone marrow to make room for stem cells, or to suppress the immune system. Otherwise immunity may try to detach the transplanted cells.

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Leukemia and pregnancy

Leukemia during pregnancy is very rare - in one out of 100,000 pregnant women. In most cases, during pregnancy diagnosed acute leukemia: most - myeloid leukemia, and about half as likely - lymphocytic leukemia. In chronic myeloid leukemia accounts for less than 10% of all leukemia cases during pregnancy, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia is extremely rare. In 70-75% of cases of acute leukemia in pregnant women can achieve remission, but the average survival rate, according to available data today is 6-12 months.

Consequences of leukemia can be very serious, not only for the mother but also to the fetus. In cases where women are not undergoing chemotherapy, it noted intrauterine growth retardation. In addition, in acute leukemia there is a high probability of premature birth, miscarriage Miscarriage - can you protect yourself from it?  Miscarriage - can you protect yourself from it?
   and stillbirth.

With chemotherapy, especially if it is performed early in pregnancy, the risk of congenital abnormalities in the child is about 10%; we know many cases when after a course of chemotherapy used to treat acute leukemia in a pregnant woman, were born perfectly healthy children.

In general, pregnant women are treated as well as non-pregnant, and priority in the process of therapy is the life and health of the woman. In the early stages patients are usually offered to terminate the pregnancy, but if a woman decides not to do so, some medications, such as methotrexate, should be replaced by others. In the second and third trimesters of chemotherapy is considered to be safe enough for the fetus. Ideally, at the time of the birth mother should come complete remission - in this case the risk of serious complications for her and the baby is relatively small.

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Leukemia - Statistics

Since the 1970s of the twentieth century, the number of cases of leukemia increased significantly, but, contrary to popular belief, the researchers do not tend to associate it only with deteriorating environmental conditions, increasing stress How to beat stress? Create an oasis  How to beat stress? Create an oasis
   in everyday life and unhealthy diets. Different types of leukemia today revealed more often than 40-50 years ago, not least through better methods of diagnosis. It is also noted that over the past decade, the incidence of leukemia in Europe for men and women has changed very little.

In its prevalence Leukemia ranks twelfth in Europe and the eleventh largest in the world. For a year in Europe are diagnosed more than 80,000 new cases of leukemia, and around the world - more than 350,000 cases. The highest incidence of leukemia observed in Canada, Australia and New Zealand (9.48, 9.37 and 8.2 cases per 100,000 people, respectively), the lowest - in West Africa (for example, in Mauritania - 1.06 cases per 100,000 people in Senegal - 1.5 on 100,000 in Côte d'Ivoire - 0.51 per 100,000). The researchers note that the incidence rates may, among other things, reflect the quality of the different countries of diagnostic methods, as well as access to health services.

In Russia fixed 6.26 leukemia cases per 100,000 people.





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