Leukemia
By Brooke Rozum
What happens when someone has leukemia.
In leukemia your bone marrow gets infected by leukemia cells that take over. But the thing is, leukemia cells do nothing to help your body. Once your bone marrow gets filled up with the leukemia cells, the cells go into your bloodstream and gets clogged and can’t properly flow.
What leukemia does to your body.
Normally blood flows normally through all of your body. But with leukemia, leukemia cells get bunched around your normal cells, your blood can't do its job. You may bleed or bruise easily, and get infections, Also you get more tired.
Diagnosis
To diagnose leukemia first doctors take blood tests. If the patient does have leukemia the doctor would see less healthy cells (white blood cells, red blood cells, and less oxygen) and more leukemia cells.
Who is Affected?
Leukemia affects both genders. AML affects children ages 2 years old. AML is not commonly affecting older children until the teenage years, AML is the most common type of acute leukemia in adults. ALL affects children ages 2-3 years old.
Signs and Symptoms
The symptoms of Leukemia are
weakness
very tired
loss in white blood cells
bone pain
bleeding
easily bruised
loss in red blood cells
infections
weight loss
shortness of breath
- becoming paler
Treatment
Most forms of leukemia are treated with pharmacy medication, typically combined into a multi-drug chemotherapy regimen. Some are also treated with radiation therapy. Or a bone marrow transplant could also work.
Is it Genetic?
The cause for most cases of leukemia is unknown. The different leukemia's possibly have different causes.
Connections
I do not know anyone with leukemia. I selected this condition because some places I go, there is a donation box for a people with leukemia. I noticed that there are a lot of people with leukemia. I wanted to learn more about this common type of cancer.