Leukemias are a group of disorders which represent cancers of the blood and bone marrow system. Blood cells are made by your bone marrow, which is the soft tissue in the middle of most bones. In leukemia, the bone marrow starts making too many white blood cells, and sometimes these cells don't work right. As a result of the uncontrolled growth of leukemic cells in the bone marrow, there is inadequate space in the bone marrow for normal blood production (hematopoiesis) to occur. The lack of normal blood growth results in the lack of normal white blood cells (increasing the risk of infection), the lack of red blood cells (resulting in fatigue, weakness, and anemia) and the lack of normal platelet production increasing the risk of bleeding.
Leukemia may be fatal. People may die from internal bleeding which would have been prevented by the platelets. Or, more often, they may die from infections which start with a virus or bacteria that would ordinarily have been wiped out by healthy white blood cells. The exact course leukemia takes, and the speed with which it takes that course, varies with the type and age of the white cells initially affected.

There several types of leukemia classified as acute or chronic based on how fast the disease progresses and by the white blood cell type that is affected.
Acute leukemia is a disease that gets worse quickly. The bone marrow produces blasts, which are very early or immature cells incapable of useful functions. In the acute leukemias, blasts multiply quickly and overcrowd the bone marrow, squeezing out normal cells, then spill over into the bloodstream.

Chronic leukemia usually progresses slowly. An adult can have chronic leukemia for many years before it becomes a problem.
Leukemias are named by the type of white blood cell that is defective. In lymphocytic leukemia, lymphocytes are malfunctioning. In myeloid leukemia, myeloid cells are malfunctioning.

Causes

Experts do not know what causes leukemia. Research has shown that some people may be more likely to get leukemia. While we don't know what causes leukemia in most cases, excessive exposure to ionizing radiation and certain chemicals are suspected to be contributing factors.

Symptoms

Symptoms of leukemia depend on how much the cancer has grown and may include:

• Fevers and night sweats
• Frequent or unusual infections
• Weakness and fatigue
• Headaches
• Bleeding in gums
• Bleeding under the skin, such as bruises or spots
• Joint pain
• Fatigue
• Enlarged lymph nodes
• Bone pain
• Swelling in the belly or pain on the left side of the belly or in the left shoulder from a swollen spleen.
• Decreased appetite and weight loss because you feel full and don't want to eat.

The chronic forms of leukemia often cause no symptoms until much later in the disease.

Treatment

The goal of treatment for leukemia is to destroy the leukemia cells and allow normal cells to form in your bone marrow. Health News are based on the type of leukemia you have, its stage, and your age and general health. Conventional chemotherapy drugs, possibly two or more, are most popular, however, some types of Leukemia require more aggressive or innovative treatments. Treatments may initially be administered in a hospital and subsequently in an outpatient setting.