Blood Cancer - Leukemia

Blood plays an important role in the human body. Therefore, if man is deprived of blood should get treatment immediately. When blood disorders like blood cancer it will disturb human health and even cause death.

Blood cancer is a deadly disease so it is important to know about this cancer.

What is a blood cancer?


Blood cancer is often referred to as leukemia which is a malignancy of blood-forming cells in bone marrow and lymphoid tissues, generally occurs in leukocytes (white blood cells).

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Abnormal white blood cells multiply in the bloodstream to be a sign of blood cancer.

White blood cells function as the body's defenses under normal circumstances. In patients with leukemia, there is the formation of abnormal white blood cells (leukemia cells) which are different. White blood cells are not in accordance with its normal function.

In addition, the bone marrow produces abnormal white blood cells called leukemia cells. Leukemic cells present in bone marrow will continue to divide and urged the normal cells, so that normal blood cell production will decline.

Classification of Blood Cancer - Leukemia


Leukemia, in general, classified into lymphocytic leukemia and myeloid leukemia. Overall, the leukemia is divided into:

# Chronic lymphocytic leukemia mostly strikes people over the age of 55 years and rarely affects children.

# Chronic myeloid leukemia mostly affects adults.

# Acute lymphocytic leukemia mostly affects children. This type of leukemia is the most types of leukemia in children (approximately 75-80% of leukemia in children). However, it can also strike adults.

# Acute myeloid leukemia can affect both children and adults.

# Other types of leukemia: hairy cell leukemia is a rare type of chronic leukemia.

Causes of Blood Cancer - Leukemia


Causes of blood cancer - leukemia is still not known with certainty. However, according to some studies, people with certain risk factors further increases the risk of leukemia.

Here are some risk factors that can cause blood cancer - leukemia:

# Radiation. High doses of radiation led to an increased incidence of this disease. Medical therapy that uses radiation is also a source of high-dose radiation. While radiation for diagnostics (eg x-rays), the dose is much lower and not associated with an increased incidence of leukemia.

# Exposure to certain chemicals such as benzene and formaldehyde.

# Chemotherapy. Other types of cancer patients receiving certain chemotherapy may suffer from leukemia at a later date eg type of alkylating chemotherapeutic agents. However, these types of chemotherapy remain consideration should be given with benefit-risk ratio.

# Down Syndrome. Down's syndrome and various other genetic disorders caused by chromosomal abnormalities may increase the risk of blood cancer.

# Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus-1 (HTLV-1) causes T-cell leukemia. Type of virus that can cause leukemia is a retrovirus and feline leukemia virus.

# Mielodisplastik syndrome. Mielodisplastik syndrome is a disorder of blood cell formation. It is characterized by a decrease in cell density (hiposelularitas) in bone marrow. The disease is often defined as pre-leukemia. People with this disorder have a high risk to develop into leukemia.

# Smoking

Symptoms of Blood Cancer - Leukemia


A person who has blood cancer - leukemia will not survive long without serious treatment. Therefore, need to be aware of some of the symptoms that occur.

Symptoms of blood cancer - leukemia vary according to the number of abnormal cells and abnormal cells is the gathering place. Common symptoms of leukemia patients, namely:

# Fever or night sweats.

# Often the infection.

# Feeling weak or tired.

# Pale.

# Headache.

# Easy bleeding and bruising. For example, gums bleed easily when tooth brush, lightly bruise easily when bumped.

# Pain in the bones and / or joints

# Swelling or discomfort in the abdomen, caused by an enlarged spleen.

# Enlarged lymph nodes, especially in the neck and armpits.

# Weight loss.

Treatment of Blood Cancer - Leukemia


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After finding out the causes of blood cancer - leukemia, it is important to know how to treat this cancer. Chemotherapy is the most common treatments performed on cancer, especially blood cancer - leukemia. In addition to chemotherapy, there are several ways blood cancer treatments such as radiation therapy, biological therapy, bone marrow transplantation, and surgery (removal of spleen).

However, the treatments are only able to minimize blood cancer malignancy. It is better to consult a specialist doctor in particular for the treatment of this cancer.

Prevention of Blood Cancer - Leukemia


You already know how dangerous blood cancer diseases to humans. Therefore, it is essential to prevent the disease early.

Effective and efficient for the prevention of blood cancers-leukemia have not been found. Avoiding risk factors with healthy lifestyle is the most likely done at this time.

Here are some ways of prevention of blood cancer - leukemia:

# Stop smoking.

# Reduce or avoid consumption of substances karsiogenik.

# Exercise regularly.

# Avoiding certain radiation exposure.

# Intake of foods that are healthy and balanced.

# Get enough rest.








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