What are the symptoms of leukemia?

What are the symptoms of leukemia?

Leukemia is a type of cancer that begins in the blooding-forming tissues of the body such as the bone marrow. The cancer causes white blood cells to grow abnormally. The exact cause of leukemia is not known. Some risk factors include genetics, exposure to certain chemicals and radiation or bone marrow disorders.

Types of leukemia
Leukemia that progresses slowly is termed as chromic leukemia and if the disease progresses rapidly, it is referred to as acute leukemia. Leukemia is also classified depending on the type of blood cell affected by the disease.

  • Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) affects a type of white blood cell called lymphocyte and develops at a faster rate.
  • Chronic lymphoblastic leukemia (CLL) affects lymphocytes and develops slowly.
  • Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) affects a type of white blood cells known as granulocytes and develops fast.
  • Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) affects granulocytes and develops slowly.

Symptoms of leukemia
Leukemia symptoms begin to appear as the production of white blood cells is disturbed in the bone marrow. The lack of white blood cells in the body can lead to the following symptoms

  • Frequent or persistent infections are a classic sign of leukemia as white blood cells stop functioning properly due to the cancer.
  • Anemia is a common leukemia symptom as cancer can affect the production of red blood cells.
  • Fatigue can result due to leukemia along with weakness, palpitations and breathlessness.
  • Pain or tenderness in the bones may be seen in children with ALL.
  • Bruising and bleeding can frequently occur due to low count of platelets. Petechiae, which are small red skin spots, can appear due to disturbances in the blood. Abnormal growth of white blood cells can also cause heavy menstrual flow, bleeding in the gums or nosebleeds.

Often, leukemia symptoms go unnoticed as some of the signs resemble those of cold infections or flu. But if the infections persist or any of the symptoms occur frequently, it is a good idea to see a doctor to understand the cause for the same.

Leukemia treatment
The doctor may want to see how some leukemia symptoms progress or affect the health of the patient before starting any therapies. Patients with chronic types of leukemia may not need to begin treatment therapies immediately after diagnosis.
The diagnosis can take place through physical exam to check for any lymph node swelling, liver health and anemia. Other diagnostic procedures for leukemia can include blood tests or a bone marrow test.

Most often, it is possible to cure acute leukemia with standard therapies. However, in cases of chronic leukemia, even though the disease can be treated, a cure most often is not a possibility.

Some treatment options for leukemia are chemotherapy, targeted therapy, radiation therapy, biological therapy and stem cell transplant. The treatment plan may depend on the patient’s age, state of health and type and severity of leukemia. Information about leukemia symptoms can greatly help in the timely diagnosis and treatment of the cancer.

Related Reading

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Most of the dogs do not have a food fuss and may eat almost anything that you feed them. Dogs are not choosy at all when it comes to food and nutrition. Hence, it is important to make sure that the food that you are purchasing for your dog is healthy. The landscape of dog food has been developing by leaps and bounds in recent times. There is a wide variety of options to choose from in the online and offline market. Given the wide range of options that are available today, buying the best dog food might seem to be a confusing task indeed. All the commercial pet food that is available in the market today is regulated by the FDA. Therefore, most of the products do contain nutritious, healthy, and safe ingredients. But it does help to know certain basic factors you should look for while buying food for your dog. Prioritize on the nutritional guarantee The best dog food, which meets the dog’s needs adequately has a statement written on the label of the product, from the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Buy from some of the best dog food brands, such as Fromm Family Foods, Earthborn Holistic, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and The Honest Kitchen.
Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

The most important aspect when designing your kitchen is deciding on the type of cabinets. In addition to functionality, kitchen cabinets score on aesthetics as well. Once the layout is planned, you can go ahead with choosing the cabinets. If you’re remodeling your home or just the kitchen, what you need to consider are the types of cabinets that furnish your kitchen. Here are a few types of kitchen cabinets that you can choose from. Base cabinets These kitchen cabinets are mounted on the floor and they are placed after checking out the floor plan. A major part of your job in the kitchen is on these base cabinets, which hold and support the countertops. These base cabinets are combined to carve out kitchen islands. A number of base cabinets are fused/set against one another and installed on site. The base cabinets, in addition to supporting the countertops, serve as drawers to hold your cutlery and appliances. Wall cabinets Mounted on the walls, these cabinets can store everything, right from your cookware to cookbooks. In terms of design, they offer utmost flexibility. Wall cabinet kitchen is available in varying heights, multiple widths, and custom depth options. This customization helps you to fit in your stuff of varying shapes and sizes into the wall cabinets.
How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

In today’s world, where you are presented with over a dozen choices for every item you would purchase for your own kitchen, it is not surprising that you have an equal number of options for your dog’s food. However, choosing the perfect brand and formula for your dog out of a range of options in the market is not an easy job. Your pet depends on you and trusts you to make the right choice for them. Therefore, it is imperative that you do your research about the products available in the market, understand what your dog needs, know what might be your pet’s problems, and then make a sound decision. What is a sensitive stomach? Dogs are known to have voracious and large appetites. Keeping that in mind, it is normal to assume that they have strong stomachs. They can eat close to anything be it sweets, bakes, chewy gum, hard leather or even woolen socks for that matter! It always so happens that the strongest of them are prone to allergies and can develop a disorder which is medically translated as a sensitive stomach. This might be due to a sudden change in the food habits or even due an infection picked up from somewhere.
All You Need to Know about Cat Food

All You Need to Know about Cat Food

For cat owners, cat food is a hot topic. You need to think about it in different aspects. The best thing is to know which ingredients are good for cat food and which are harmful. If you are aware of this, you can get an idea about the quality of the cat food just by going through the label. It is always sensible to stick to one brand of cat food. However, you may also want to try and prepare cat food yourself. There are also various options for wet cat food as well. Cat’s love for fish is universal, so you can do without going for expensive cat food. Nevertheless, whether you buy it or prepare cat food at home, you need to ensure that the food contains enough nutrition and calories. You would need to have some idea about the ingredients that must be present in cat food and make a worthy selection for your cat. Basic ingredients present in good cat foods Cats need a variety of nutrients to stay healthy and active; they need various vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, and oils. The following is a brief explanation of the basic ingredients that should be present in cat foods.