Leukemia, examining the most important symptoms and treatment (leukemia or leukemia)

Leukemia occurs when the DNA of a cell in the bone marrow changes, mutates and cannot grow normally and function normally. Leukemia treatment is related to the type of blood cancer, the person’s age and his health conditions. In this article from the Green Positive Online Pharmacy magazine, we will give you complete information about leukemia.

What is blood cancer?

Leukemia affects the way blood cells are produced and how they function in the cells. Most blood cancers start in the bone marrow. Bone marrow is responsible for making stem cells and after some time it will turn into red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Blood cells fight infection, carry oxygen to different parts of the body, and help control bleeding from the body.

Leukemia occurs when an agent interferes with the way the body makes blood cells. If you have leukemia, the abnormal blood cells overwhelm other cells and disrupt the overall functioning of the body system.

Is leukemia dangerous?

In general, 8% of cancers are related to blood cancer. In recent years, the number of deaths caused by blood cancer has decreased day by day due to significant advances in medical science.

Types of blood cancer

There are 3 types of leukemia:

leukemia

The most common type of blood cancer, which is very common among children and teenagers, is leukemia. The types of leukemia are: acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and chronic myelogenous leukemia. In the last 40 years, the life expectancy of patients with this type of cancer has increased by 5 years.

lymphoma

Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system that includes the bone marrow. In the last 40 years, the death rate of people suffering from this type of cancer has reached half. Types of lymphoma include: Hodgkin’s lymphoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, follicular lymphoma, B-cell lymphoma, and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

myeloma

This type of blood cancer starts from the bone marrow and affects the plasma cells. The most common type of myeloma is multiple myeloma. More than half of people with myeloma continue to live 5 years after being diagnosed with this disease. Plasmacytoma and amyloidosis are other types of myeloma.

Which type of leukemia is fatal?

Based on statistics and research, it can be said that acute promyelocytic leukemia or APL is the worst type of blood cancer, and the life expectancy of patients in it is relatively less.

This type of leukemia can cause the death of the patient even within a few days if it is not diagnosed on time. Acute promyelocytic leukemia occurs when promyelocytes, a type of blood cell, do not fully develop and become cancerous. APL progresses rapidly and therefore requires immediate treatment. This type of leukemia is rare and is seen mostly in adults; No children.

Is leukemia curable?

Leukemia is a type of cancer in which white blood cells and plasma are attacked. This cancer often ends in chronic anemia and affects the whole body. Blood cancer affects bone marrow, bones, spleen and lymph nodes. With the advancement of medical science today, blood cancer can be treated if it is in a certain stage, for example stage 1 and 2. Of course, it means that the life span of patients can be increased.

There is no drug that can completely cure leukemia. Doctors can increase the patient’s life expectancy by 5 to 10 years in some stages of leukemia.

Life expectancy of blood cancer patients

Leukemia is one of the most common types of blood cancer, the rate of which increases sharply from the age of 55 onwards. The latest statistics show that more than 65% of people with leukemia are still alive 5 years after being diagnosed. The life expectancy of blood cancer patients is about 5 to 10 years at best.

What are the first symptoms of leukemia?

The first symptoms of leukemia (any type of leukemia) include the following:

• Fatigue: This type of fatigue is so much that the person is unable to do his usual activities during the day.
• Persistent fever: A fever is a sign that your body is fighting an infection or responding to cancer cells.
• Night sweats: This type of sweat appears suddenly during sleep and makes your clothes so wet that it disturbs your sleep.
• Unusual bleeding or bruising: This includes bleeding that does not stop or bruising that does not heal even after 2 weeks.
• Abnormal weight loss without any valid reason: For example, if a person loses about 5 kilos or more in 6 months without any diet or special reason.

Many of the symptoms mentioned above are similar to the symptoms of some diseases. Therefore, by observing these symptoms, you must see a doctor to perform more comprehensive examinations.

Symptoms of leukemia in women

Symptoms of leukemia in men and women are almost the same. These can be mentioned:

• Fatigue for no reason
• weakness
• pale face
• Profuse sweating, especially at night
• Unwanted weight loss
• Ague
• Frequent infections
• Tiny red, purple, or brown spots under the skin
• Bone pain and tenderness
• Swelling of lymph nodes in the neck, armpit, groin, etc.
• Loss of appetite
• Anemia

Is leukemia fatal?

In response to the question of whether leukemia is fatal, we must say yes; Unfortunately, this type of cancer has no definitive treatment.

But it is not possible to accurately determine how long a person will live after the symptoms and diagnosis of leukemia. In fact, various factors are involved in the lifetime of cancer patients; Such as age, stage of cancer (what is the stage of cancer), the type of treatment that the person has started, etc., so the survival rate of leukemia cannot be accurately determined for everyone.

Treatment of blood cancer

Some types of blood cancer respond very well to certain treatments. But some treatments have significant side effects. A person’s age, general health, and the type of leukemia play a role in determining what treatment is appropriate. The most common treatments for leukemia, along with their common side effects, include the following:

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is an initial treatment for leukemia that kills cancer cells to stop the disease from progressing.

Complications of chemotherapy

Complications of chemotherapy include the following:

• tiredness
• Feel sick
• hair loss
• infection
• Anemia
• Bruising and bleeding
• mouth pain
• Loss of appetite
• Changes in skin and nails
• Memory impairment and sleep problems
• sexual disorders
• Diarrhea or constipation
• depression and anxiety

Radiotherapy

Radiation therapy may be used to treat leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma. Radiation therapy targets abnormal cells and damages their DNA so that they do not multiply. In many cases, doctors use radiation therapy along with other treatments for cancer.

Complications of radiation therapy

The side effects of radiation therapy are as follows:

• skin problems
• tiredness
• hair loss
• Loss of appetite and weight loss
• Difficulty swallowing
• diarrhea
• Joint and muscle pain
• Sexual problems and impaired fertility
• Mental problems such as depression

Immunotherapy

This treatment uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer. Immunotherapy helps the body make more immune cells or helps these cells find and destroy cancer cells.

Complications of immunotherapy

About 50% of people who receive immunotherapy experience side effects. Less than 5% of these people have serious side effects. Skin rashes, fatigue, diarrhea, and decreased thyroid levels are among the side effects of immunotherapy for the treatment of leukemia.

Targeted therapy for leukemia

This treatment targets genetic changes or mutations that turn healthy cells into abnormal cells.

Side effects of targeted therapy

Common side effects include diarrhea, elevated liver enzymes, and skin rash. Long-term use of this treatment may increase the risk of heart problems and stroke.

The work of T-cell therapy

For the treatment of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, multiple myeloma and several types Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma Your doctor may suggest cardiopulmonary therapy, which works on T-cell lymphocytes, which are a type of white blood cell.

Side effects of T-cell therapy

Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurological problems are among the most common side effects of T cell therapy. Treatment with CAR T cells can affect the nervous system and cause symptoms such as balance problems, convulsions or tremors and disrupt daily activities.

Autologous bone marrow transplantation

In some cases, doctors collect and store bone marrow stem cells before administering high doses of chemotherapy. In this way, the side effects of chemotherapy may be avoided.

Complications of autologous bone marrow transplantation

Nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss, infection, mouth sores, bleeding, infertility or infertility, anemia, fatigue, cataracts, and heart, liver, and kidney failure are some of the complications of bone marrow transplantation.

Allogeneic transplant

Sometimes the damaged bone marrow needs to be replaced with healthy bone marrow. In these cases, allogeneic transplantation is used, which is effective but dangerous.

Prevention of blood cancer

Leukemia occurs when the DNA of blood cells is changed or mutated. No one knows why this happens; Therefore, it is natural that it is not easy to mention the ways to prevent blood cancer. But it seems that the following factors are influential in the occurrence of blood cancer:

• Exposure to harmful rays and chemical radiation
• Overworking with chemicals
• Decreased immunity due to infection
• Genetic history of leukemia
• Hereditary conditions that increase the risk of developing leukemia

To prevent blood cancer, pay attention to the above and avoid it if it is within your power.

Blood cancer diagnosis method

Several types of tests or imaging may be necessary for a doctor to accurately diagnose leukemia. Tests that are commonly recommended for leukemia include:

• complete blood count (CBC)
• Testing chemicals and other substances in the blood
• CT scan, computerized tomography
• Magnetic resonance imaging or MRI
• Pet scan
• Bone marrow biopsy
• Examining blood cells under a microscope

The worst type of leukemia

It seems that acute promyelocytic leukemia can be introduced as the worst type of blood cancer because statistics show that this disease can be fatal in a short period of time. Acute promyelocytic leukemia progresses very quickly and is more common in people over 30 years of age.

Conclusion

In a person with leukemia, abnormal cells in the blood dominate other cells and generally affect all the body systems. With the progress that has been made especially in recent years in the field of fighting blood cancer, the life expectancy of patients with this disease has increased. However, there is no definitive cure for leukemia. Common treatments can only delay the patient’s demise.