Symptoms And Treatment Of Leukemia Essay

Leukemia is a cancer of blood cells, specifically white blood cells that are responsible for fighting infection. However, the abnormal cells in leukemia do not function in the same way as normal white blood cells. Leukemia cells continue to grow and divide, eventually crowding out normal blood cells. The end result is that it becomes difficult for the body to fight infections, control bleeding and transport oxygen (Medicine Net, 2015). It is estimated that each year, approximately 30,800 individuals will be diagnosed with leukemia in the United

Scenario: John is a 4 year-old boy who was admitted for chemotherapy following diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).  He had a white blood cell count of 250,000.  Clinical presentation included loss of appetite, easily bruised, gum bleeding, and fatigue.  Physical examination revealed marked splenomegaly, pale skin color, temperature of 102°F, and upper abdomen tenderness along with nonspecific arthralgia.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, is the disease that affects children the most and because of the abnormal cells that are immature white blood cells which cannot help the body fight infections cause children with the disease to often get infections and have fevers (National Cancer Institute, 2002, p. 1). The symptoms that the patient with ALL may have depend on the number of abnormal cells of the patient where exactly the cells collect. Children patients with ALL have low amounts of healthy red blood cells and platelets, which cause less oxygen to be carried through the body because of the lack of red blood cells. Patients at times may look pale, feel weak, and tired causing bleeding and bruising very easily because of their lack of enough platelets. This condition is called anemia. Anemia is very much common in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Fever, fatigue, bone or joint pain, tiny red spots under the skin called petechiae are a couple of symptoms that the disease ALL has. Headaches with, or without vomiting also may occur if patient happens to have abnormal cells collecting in the brain or spinal cord (National Cancer Institute, 2002 para. 2).

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is a non-profit organization focused on finding a cure for blood cancer and providing their patients with the medical care available. For 65 years, the LLS has been an advocate for blood cancer patients, families, and survivors. In honor of September, Blood Cancer Awareness Month LLS has developed 30 “proof points”, one for each day of the month that displays the organizations success and impact towards finding a cure for blood cancer. With more than $1 billion invested in treatments and research, LLS hopes to reach their goal of $400,000 during Blood Cancer Awareness Month to continue their efforts in creating a world without blood cancer.

Leukemia broadly describes conditions that affect erythropoiesis in the bone marrow, lymphatic system, and spleen. As with all other cancers, leukemia begins from the mutation of DNA in certain cells. Classifications of leukemias are based on the age of onset and the leukocyte involved (Lewis et al. 2014, 665). The most common leukemia is chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), accounting for approximately 30% of cases in the United States (Copstead and Banasik 2013, 222). The normal function of the bone marrow, spleen, and liver becomes interrupted by the invasion of malignant lymphocytes (B cells); since the B cells are functionally inactive, a patient becomes more susceptible to infections. The sluggish progression of CLL unfortunately leads to late diagnoses and poor prognosis (Lewis et al. 2014, 665). Patients that become symptomatic in later stages will experience fatigue, weight loss, anorexia, and an increased susceptibility to infection, due to abnormal antibody production. Patient specific factors such as age, disease progression, and medication side effects will determine the course of treatment (Copstead and Banasik 2013, 223). The fragile state of patients with CLL requires continuous examination of drug therapy and interventions to prevent further complications.

Leukemia is a type of cancer that sadly causes around 25,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. The area that it affects is the blood and the bone marrow and like most or all of the types of cancer in the world if not taken control of early it will most likely kill you.

Thesis/argument statement OR main idea statement: Cancer affects children and their families in many ways.

Leukemia Leukemia is a group of blood diseases characterized by cancer of the blood forming tissues. It was discovered in Europe during the XIX century when a group of doctors directed by John Hughes Bennett tested their patients and discovered their elevated number of white blood cells. It was then called “white blood” and later was named leukemia from the words greek words “leukos” (white) and “hemia” (blood). Leukemia is a disfunction of the bone marrow stem that over

As Leukemia cells build up in the marrow, they can crowd out the normal blood cell-making cells. The Leukemia cells might also invade other areas of the body, which can also cause symptoms. A few symptoms of Leukemia are tiredness, coldness, weakness, feeling dizzy or lightheaded, headaches, and shortness of breath and pale skin. If you have low blood plate counts you could also have bone or joint pain, swelling of the abdomen, loss of appetite or weight loss, swollen lymph nodes, coughing or trouble breathing, swelling of the face or arms, headache, seizures or vomiting, rashes, gum problems, extreme fatigue, and weakness. Children who receive therapy for all types of Leukemia may also experience their own symptoms, which may include late adverse effects, which are central nervous system (CNS) impairment, slowing of growth, infertility, cataracts, and an increased risk for other cancers. These effects vary on the person’s age during the treatment, and the type of therapies that they

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) is slow-progressing or “chronic”, cancer of the blood and bone marrow. CLL is the second most common leukemia in adults and one of the four primary types of leukemia. Certain risk factors have been identified including age, race, sex, family history of blood and bone marrow cancers and chemical exposure. Most people diagnosed with CLL are white males over the age of 60. Occurrence increases with age and a marked increase after 60. Herbicides, insecticides and Agent Orange used in the Vietnam War have shown to increase the risk of developing CLL. There are approximately 15,000 new cases diagnosed each year.

“If the ALL has spread to the covering of the brain or spinal cord”, doctors should take this into consideration while deciding the patients treatment (“Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia”3). If patients have certain chromosomal changes chromosomal changes, doctors need to think about that when deciding treatment for a patient (“Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia” 3).

Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia is a scary disease. The term “acute” means the disease can quickly spread and progress quickly and can prove fatal in months if left untreated. “Lymphocytic” simply means that it develops from immature forms of lymphocytes. Also known as Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, or ALL for short, it is a type of cancer that starts from the early form of white blood cells called lymphocytes in the bone marrow. ALL is the most common form of cancer in children, though adults can get it as well. For children, treatment results in a good chance of a cure. Adults have a significantly smaller chance of a cure with ALL. ALL generally invades the blood very quickly and has the potential to spread to other body parts such as the spleen,

Leukemia is something that we hear about a lot. I believe that people do not understand exactly what leukemia is and how dangerous it can be, I chose this topic to try to help them understand. In this paper I will explain what leukemia is and what treatments you can choose from to treat the cancer.

Incurable and slowly deteriorating billions of bodies worldwide, Cancer is one of the biggest killers in the world. Sometimes going undetected, Cancer causes cells to divide uncontrollably and if gone undetected or if treatment fails, is extremely deadly to both humans and animals. Cancer can be located almost anywhere in the body and is able to spread everywhere if uncontained. The treatments most often used to treat Cancer are chemotherapy and radiation. Chemotherapy is a treatment that uses different medication and chemicals, inserted through I.V and pills, to rid of any Cancer in the body. Radiation is the use of radiation to target and obliterate cancer cells. Radiation can be done externally by machine or internally through the use

Jack woke up one morning not feeling well. He felt very weak and could not get out of bed. His mother decided to take him to the doctors. The doctors took many tests to figure out what was making him feel that way. After about an hour or two the doctors got the results back from a blood test. Results that would change Jack’s childhood for the worse. Jack has been diagnosed with Leukemia, a blood cancer. Of course, Jack was not sure what that meant but, his parents became worried beyond belief with the long road ahead of them. Scientists and researchers were all involved in the discovery of Leukemia cancer, which increased knowledge of this cancer, decreased deaths and discovered treatments, and started charity groups to fund research.