The Blood Cancer 🩸

najrandilmohamud
Mar 12, 2021
3 min read

Hello readers! Today we will be talking about one of the rarest types of cancers and yet the leading type of cancer in children and teenagers. We are talking about Leukemia, in other words, the cancer that affects our blood cells.

What is Leukaemia?

It is a type of blood cancer. The first cell to be touched by this cancer is located in the bone marrow. From there, all cells will undergo change and transform into a leukaemic cells. Eventually, the whole bone marrow will be affected and the cancer will spread to the blood. The leukaemia cells thrive while the normals cells become less and less present. Many different forms of Leukemia exist such as Acute lymphocytic leukemia, Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Chronic myelogenous leukemia, etc. Finally, before we start talking about causes, symptoms, types and treatments, let’s address a common myth. If you have ever heard someone say “Leukemia is contagious!”, forget about it, because this is absolutely NOT true for humans! Still, leukaemia can still be contagious amongst animals such as cats.

Causes

Our blood is composed of 3 main components; Red Blood Cells (RBCs), White Blood Cells(WBCs) and Platelets. When affected by leukaemia, the White Blood Cells that are a vital part of our immune system is targeted. The causes are not completely understood, but briefly, leukaemia happens due to a genetic mutation in blood cells. Instead of having blood cells that grow and naturally die after some time, the blood cells keep growing past their lifespan. Over time, the situation gets out of hands and all the body is crowded with unhealthy cells.

Symptoms

Some symptoms of Leukemia include:

Fevers or chills
Constant fatigue or weakness
Frequent and/or severe infections
Sudden weight loss
Easy bleeding and bruising
Recurrent nosebleeds
Tiny red spots in your skin also known as petechiae
Excessive sweating, especially at night
Bone pain or tenderness
Swollen lymph nodes
Enlarged liver or spleen

Note that Leukemia is hard to diagnose. The symptoms are quite vague and can often be confused with milder conditions.

Risk factors

Certain elements of one’s health and lifestyle may lead them to be more prone to leukaemia. The main risk factors are:

A previous cancer treatment. Chemotherapy and radiation can sometimes increase the risk of getting leukaemia
Genetic abnormalities. Some genetic disorders like the Down Syndrome can increase the risk of developing leukaemia
Exposure to chemicals (ex. benzene)
Family History and Genetics

Types of Leukemias

Leukemias can be acute or chronic as well as lymphocytic (affecting the lymphoid cells) or myelogenous (affecting the myeloid cells)

4 common types of leukaemia exist:

Acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL). Commonly found in young children but can also occur in adults.
Acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML). Most common type of leukaemia. It can be found in children and adults.
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). Most common chronic adult leukaemia. This is a tricky one to diagnose. You may feel well for years without needing treatment.
Chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML). Mostly affects adults and have very few symptoms in the beginning. Only later do the cancerous cells start growing quickly.
Other rarest leukaemia exist too

Diagnosis

Doctors often do three important tests to diagnose leukaemia.

A physical exam for pale skin from anemia, swelling of the lymphs nodes and increase in size of the spleen or liver
Blood tests to test levels of RBCs and WBCs
Bone Marrow Tests