Howes x's List: Types

• Chronic leukemia: Early in the disease, the leukemia cells can still do  some of the work of normal white blood cells.
• As the number of leukemia cells in the blood increases, people get symptoms,  such as swollen lymph nodes  or infections.
• Acute leukemia: The leukemia cells can't do any of the work of normal  white blood cells. The number of leukemia cells increases rapidly. Acute  leukemia usually worsens quickly.
• • Chronic lymphocytic  leukemia (CLL): CLL affects lymphoid cells and usually grows slowly. It  accounts for more than 15,000 new cases of leukemia each year. Most often,  people diagnosed with the disease are over age 55. It almost never affects  children.
• • Chronic myeloid  leukemia (CML): CML affects myeloid cells and usually grows slowly at  first. It accounts for nearly 5,000 new cases of leukemia each year. It mainly  affects adults.
• • Acute lymphocytic  (lymphoblastic) leukemia (ALL): ALL affects lymphoid cells and grows  quickly. It accounts for more than 5,000 new cases of leukemia each year. ALL is  the most common type of leukemia in young children. It also affects adults.
• Acute myeloid  leukemia (AML): AML affects myeloid cells and grows quickly. It accounts  for more than 13,000 new cases of leukemia each year. It occurs in both adults  and children.

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• When you are healthy, your bone marrow makes:

   
   
  • White blood  cells, which help your body fight infection.  
  • Red blood  cells, which carry oxygen to all parts of your body.  
  • Platelets, which help your  blood clot.
   

  When you have leukemia, the bone marrow starts to make a lot of abnormal  white blood cells, called leukemia cells. They don't do the work of normal white  blood cells, they grow faster than normal cells, and they don't stop growing  when they should.

   

  Over time, leukemia cells can crowd out the normal blood cells. This can lead  to serious problems such as anemia, bleeding, and  infections. Leukemia cells can also spread to the lymph nodes or other  organs and cause

• The four main types of leukemia are:

   
   
  • Acute  lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL. ALL is the most common leukemia in children.  Adults can also get it.  
  • Acute  myelogenous leukemia, or AML. AML affects both children and adults.  
  • Chronic  lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL. CLL is the most common leukemia in adults,  mostly those who are older than 55. Children almost never get it.  
  • Chronic  myelogenous leukemia, or CML. CML occurs mostly in adults.

• What causes leukemia?

   

  Experts don't know what causes leukemia. But some things are known to  increase the risk of some kinds of leukemia. These things are called risk  factors. You are more likely to get leukemia if you:

   
   
  • Were exposed to large amounts of radiation.   
  • Were exposed to certain chemicals at work, such as benzene.  
  • Had some types of chemotherapy to treat another cancer.  
  • Have Down syndrome or some  other genetic problems.  
  • Smoke.
   

  But most people who have these risk factors don't get leukemia. And most  people who get leukemia do not have any known risk factors.

   

  What are the symptoms?

   

  Symptoms may depend on what type of leukemia you have, but common symptoms  include:

   
   
  • Fever and night sweats.  
  • Headaches.  
  • Bruising or bleeding easily.  
  • Bone or joint pain.  
  • A swollen or painful belly from an enlarged spleen.  
  • Swollen lymph nodes in the armpit, neck, or groin.  
  • Getting a lot of infections.  
  • Feeling very tired or weak.  
  • Losing weight and not feeling  hungry.

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