Leukaemia is commonly thought of as a cancer of the blood, but it is actually of the bone marrow cells. It may onset very slowly and be difficult to pick up in the early phases. Some symptoms might include tiredness, headaches, unexplained weight loss, nose bleeds or other less normal bleeds, and a tendency to pick up other infections readily.
Whilst many of these symptoms are common to other diseases it can be confusing, as with so many the only answer is to consult your medical professional as early as possible if you suspect even the slightest sign.
Some of the more obvious examples and symptoms could be red or purplish flat spots on your skin. A feeling of a constantly distended belly or sore to the touch or swollen glands in lymph areas such as neck, groins, or armpits.
As with many cancers, there are variants and the www.bloodcancer.org.uk website has an excellent breakdown of the types. They are there to help if you have been diagnosed and provide much-needed support.
Testing for Leukaemia
The testing regime used by your medical professionals might involve any or all of the following:
Blood Tests: Aside from checking your white and red blood cells, doctors may check your general health to see if your liver and kidneys are working properly.
Bone Marrow Biopsy: They may decide to take a sample of bone marrow, often through your hip.
Scans: These days technology has developed many different types of scans such as CT, MRI, or PET as well as the more common X-Rays. It is the Doctors way of getting to look right inside your body.
Immunophenotyping: This is where the bone marrow samples were taken to enable doctors to analyze the proteins or anything unusual in the cells.
Genetic Testing (Cytogenetics): This is where they check for other links and changes in the genetic make-up of your blood cells.
Treatments:
Various treatments are available and because of the slow onset of the disease do not be concerned about delays because actually watching and studying is a recognized part of the monitoring of the condition before deciding which way to proceed further.
Chemotherapy drugs are used to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy drugs can be given in a drip through the veins or in tablet forms of varying strengths and intensity-dependent on your doctor’s assessments.
Other drugs are being developed continually and these target certain cells or other parts as biological or immunotherapies.
Stem Cell Transplants involve first killing the cancer cells with a high dose of chemotherapy before then implanting new cells either your own or from a donor. These are introduced through a drip and are expected to grow as new, healthier cells.
The research over the past 60 years by the BloodCancer UK charity has helped develop advances in treatment and improved the life expectancy of many victims of this disease.
https://bloodcancer.org.uk/understanding-blood-cancer/leukaemia/
