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Posts Tagged ‘Leukemia’

Leukemia is cancer that begins in the tissue that forms blood. Most blood cells build up from cells in the bone marrow called stem cells. Bone marrow is the soft substance in the center of most bones.

Blood Cells

Standard blood contains three main groups of cells: white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. White blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets are made from stem cells as our body requires them. When cells grow aged or get harmed, they die, and new cells take their place. Without healthy and functioning white blood cells, the body is at risk of developing acute and sometimes fatal infections. Leukemia causes the body to create too many white blood cells, causing a stop working of the body’s immune system. Leukemia causes due to exposure to large quantity of high energy radiation, viral infections, and occupational exposure to the chemical benzene and elements from cigarettes.

Common Types of Leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a blood and bone marrow disease that generally gets worse gradually. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia or CLL is the second most general type of leukemia in adults. It often happens during or after middle age; it hardly occurs in children. Read the rest of this entry »

The bones in the body provide more than a few functions. They hold up and keep internal organs. The soft tissue within hollow bones is called bone marrow. At each end of the bone is a region of a softer form of bone-like tissue called cartilage. The majority of bones begin as cartilage. The body then lays calcium through onto the cartilage to form bone.

Bone cancer and its types

In some bones the marrow is only fatty tissue. The marrow in other bones is a combination of fat cells and blood-forming cells. The blood-forming cells generate red blood cells, white blood cells, and blood platelets. Other cells in the marrow contain plasma cells, fibroblasts, and reticuloendothelial cells. Cells from any of these tissues can build up into a cancer. Cancer that initiates is the bone is called primary bone cancer. It is found mainly in the arms and legs, but it can happen in any bone in the body.

The most familiar bone cancer is called multiple myeloma. A different cancer that starts in the bone marrow is leukemia, but it is usually considered a “blood cancer” rather than a “bone cancer.” Occasionally lymphomas, which more often begin in lymph nodes, can begin in bone marrow.

Other types of bone cances are as follows:

• Chordoma: Generally occurs in the base of the skull and bones of the spine
• Chondrosarcoma: It is the second most common primary bone cancer. Develops in the cartilage
• Fibrosarcoma: Generally develops in other types of connective tissue and occurs in elderly and middle-aged adults
• Ewing’s tumor: Ewing tumor is the third most common primary bone cancer and often develops in the long bones of the arms and legs
• Malignant fibrous histiocytoma: Usually occurs in connective tissue such as ligaments, tendons, fat, and muscle
• Giant cell tumor: Giant cell bone tumors in general affect the leg usually near the knees or arm bones of young and middle-aged adults.

Blood cancer

The malignancy which attacks the blood cell forming tissue (bone marrow) and lymphatic system is generally known as blood cancer.

Types of blood cancer: main form of blood cancer is leukemia. Others are multiple myeloma, lymphoma, etc.

1. Leukemia: The malignancy or cancer of blood forming tissue causing uncontrolled growth of numerous weak and abnormal white blood cells (leukocytes) is known as leukemia.

Leukemia starts in bone marrow. Bone marrow is a soft, spongy tissue in the cavity of most of the bones and produces various types of blood cells such as white blood cells (WBC), red blood cells (RBC), platelets etc. each of which has different function – white blood cells (WBC) protect our body from infection. Red blood cells (RBC) are for carrying oxygen to tissues of the body and platelets are for blood clotting.

Due to growth of numerous weak and abnormal white blood cells the production of normal blood cells like WBC, RBC and platelets comes down. Immune system of our body is disturbed due to drastic drop in the ability to fight infection. Lack of RBC can lead to anaemia, breathlessness and fatigue, lack of platelets creates problems with blood clotting. These numerous abnormal white blood cells overpower the bone marrow, flow into the blood stream and attack other parts of the body like lymph node, liver, spleen, spinal chord etc.

Leukemia is either chronic or acute. Acute type of leukemia develops quickly and gets worse quickly but chronic leukemia gets worse slowly.

Lymphocytic leukemia: When leukemia affects lymphoid cells then it is known as lymphocytic leukemia.

Myelogenous Leukemia: When myeloid cells are affected by leukemia then it is known as myelogenous leukemia.

2. Multiple myeloma: – when malignant plasma cells (which are a type of white blood cells in the bone marrow) produced in an uncontrolled fashion spread through the bone marrow then the disease is known as multiple myeloma.

3. Lymphoma: – It is a type of cancer of the lymphatic system. Due to some disorder when the cells in lymphatic node multiplying very rapidly become malignant then lymphoma develops.

Symptoms of blood cancer

i) Excessive sweating of body at night
ii) Frequent infections
iii) Swollen lymph joints
iv) Pain in bones, joints, tenderness in bones.
v) Excessive bruising
vi) Weakness, fatigue, malaise
vii) Weight loss
viii) Vomiting sensation
ix) Excessive bleeding in gums cuts.
x) Anaemia etc.

Author: Surya Narayan Bhattacharya