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General Overview Of The Disease

Decent Essays

1) General overview of the disease

a. History (who discovered it, well known people who had it, where it started, medical advances in past treatment)

Alfred Velpeau discovered leukemia in 1825, and in 1847 Rudolf Virchow discovered a reversed white and red blood cell balance, more red blood cells than white. He named the disease as leukämie. Some well known people in the world who had the disease are Kareem Abdul Jabar, and the Colts head Coach Chuck Pagano. Leukemia was not officially diagnosed until 1845, when John Hughes found it in him, he lived in Edinburg in Europe. There have been no medical advances in the past 180 years, but in modern day they treat it with basic chemo therapy or drugs that help replace blood cells. b. What part of the body does it affect?

Leukemia affects your entire body. It starts somewhere in the blood line and spreads through the body. New blood cells are produced in the bone marrow which are mostly red, but when you have leukemia, your body makes more white cells than it needs and can’t fight the infection.
c. What is going on inside the body? (What is physically, chemically, or emotionally going on inside the body because of the disease?)

Physically you will get tired as you may have to go through chemotherapy. You will lose your hair and will get weaker. Chemically the white blood cells take over and keep reproducing, which then spread across the body. Emotionally you are sad, because you fighting to stay alive and many people don

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