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Leukemia
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Leukemia is a form of cancer
unlike any other, and one of the more dangerous. The term leukemia
refers to cancers of the white blood cells (also called leukocytes or WBCs).
Leukemia is cancer of your body's blood-forming
tissues, including the bone marrow and lymph system.
The word leukemia means "white blood" in
Greek. The disease usually starts in the white blood
cells.
Under normal circumstances, your white blood
cells are potent infection fighters. These cells
normally grow and divide in an orderly, controlled
way, as your body needs them. But leukemia disrupts
this process.
In people with leukemia, the bone marrow produces
a large number of abnormal white blood cells. They
look different from normal blood cells and don't
function properly. Eventually, they block production
of normal white blood cells, impairing the ability
to fight off infection. Leukemia cells also crowd
out other types of blood cells produced by the bone
marrow, including red blood cells, which carry
oxygen to tissues throughout the body, and
platelets, which help form blood clots that control
bleeding.
Leukemia isn't just a children's disease, as some
people think. Leukemia has four main types and many
subtypes - and only some of them are common among
children. Overall, this form of cancer affects about
10 times as many adults as children. Leukemia is usually fatal without
successful treatment.
Treatment
Unlike other types of cancer, leukemia isn't a solid tumor that can be
surgically removed. The source of the problem is really the bone marrow.
But you can't just remove bone marrow, because it produces three basic
types of cells — white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets.
Treatment for leukemia is complex. It depends on many factors, including
your age and overall health, the type of leukemia you have and whether
it has spread to other parts of your body.
Therapies used to fight leukemia include:
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Chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy is the major form of treatment for leukemia. This
treatment uses chemical agents to kill leukemia cells. Depending on
the type of leukemia you have, you may receive a single drug or a
combination of one or more drugs. These drugs may come in a pill
form, or they may be injected directly into a vein.
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Biological
therapy.
Also known as immunotherapy, biological therapy uses substances that
bolster your immune system's response to cancer.
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Radiation
therapy.
Radiation therapy uses X-rays or other high-energy rays to damage
leukemia cells and stop their growth. You may receive radiation in
one specific area of your body where there is a collection of
leukemia cells, or you may receive radiation directed at your whole
body.
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Bone
marrow transplant.
This process replaces your leukemic bone marrow with leukemia-free
marrow. In this treatment, you receive high doses of chemotherapy or
radiation therapy, which destroys your leukemia-producing blood
marrow. This marrow is then replaced by bone marrow from a
compatible donor. In some cases, you may also be able to use your
own bone marrow for transplant (autologous transplant). This is
possible if you go into remission and then save healthy bone marrow
for a future transplant, in case the leukemia returns.
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Stem cell
transplant.
Stem cell transplant is similar to bone marrow transplant except the
cells are collected from stem cells that circulate in the
bloodstream (peripheral blood), after using a medicine that causes
cells to be released from the bone marrow. The cells used for
transplant can be your own healthy cells (autologous transplant), or
they can be collected from a compatible donor (allogeneic
transplant). This procedure is used more frequently than bone marrow
transplant because of shortened recovery times and possible
decreased risk of infection.
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Clinical
trials.
Some people with leukemia choose to enroll in clinical trials to try
out experimental treatments or new combinations of known therapies.
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Supportive
care.
No matter what kind of cancer therapy you choose, you'll likely need
medications to control pain and side effects.
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