The cancer that attacks the white blood cells of the human body is called Leukemia. The white blood cells act as the natural defense system of the body and when they are affected the immunity suffers a breakdown.
A person affected by this ailment gets abnormally high numbers of white blood cells in his body. The increased numbers of the white blood cells are visible in the microscope. The affected blood cells become dysfunctional and they can interrupt the work of other cells thus adversely affecting the blood count.
Causes of Leukemia
The doctors have not been able to pinpoint any specific cause for all the variants of Leukemia. The variants of the disease stem from distinct roots. However, the researchers think that the most probable causes are viruses, some type of chemicals, genetic disorders and artificial or natural ionizing radiation. Exposure to certain types of chemicals like hair dyes and benzene can lead a person to develop this ailment. The infections caused by the HIV and HTLV 1 and 2 virus can also result in leukemia.
Leukemia Symptoms
A person suffering from Leukemia may not develop any specific symptom and even if he does, the symptoms may not be strong enough to identify the menace. The bone marrow of the affected person gets damaged in this disease, as the regular bone marrow cells get replaced with abysmally high amounts of dysfunctional white blood cells. This leads to the deficiency of blood platelets, a necessary component for blood clotting. Therefore, people suffering from this menace can bleed continually and become bruised easily.
The white blood cells of an affected person’s body become dysfunctional and hence they often fail to resist the onslaught of common infections and viruses. This results in the breakdown of the overall immunity level.
Some of the most prevalent symptoms of this disease are tiredness, anemia, short breath, joint pain, enlarged spleen and liver. The person may also suffer from swollen tonsils, dizziness and nausea.
Types of Leukemia
Leukemia is clinically divided into two main categories: chronic and acute. The acute leukemia is marked by the quick turnover of immature blood cells in the victim’s body. This prevents the bone marrow from generating healthy blood cells. It usually affects both children and adults.
If the person afflicted by this disease is not given immediate treatment the malignant blood cells in his body can spread to other body parts and attack the healthy blood cells. It is subdivided in to 2 types- acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Chronic leukemia produces excess amount of blood cells that are comparatively matured but not quite normal. These cells may take longer time to start working and are produced at a rapid rate. It mostly targets the elderly population but people from other age groups can also fall prey to it.
There is another variant of the ailment which is named HCL or Hairy Cell Leukemia. This is more threatening as it is incurable. The affected blood cells in this cancer appear like they are wrapped by fine, short and hair shaped projections. Contrary to the other variants of the disease, HCL is demarcated by reduced white blood cells.
Treatment for Leukemia
As a matter of fact, every person suffering from this cancer may not require immediate treatment. But for people who actually require treatment, the sooner it begins is the better. The most common forms of treatment used for this cancer include steroids, chemotherapy, intensive treatments for stem cell implant or bone marrow replacement and radiotherapy.
The patients suffering from chronic leukemia are generally monitored for some time before the medication and treatments actually begin. People who are the victims of HCL, but do not show any symptoms are not given any immediate treatment.
They undergo continuous monitoring to detect the development of further symptoms. However, the patients requiring treatment are given pentostatin and cladribine, both of which are chemotherapy drugs. In some specific cases, the removal of the spleen brings relief to the patients.
