For now, scientists aren’t quite sure of the exact causes of leukemia. But they do know that it seems to form from a combination of both environmental and genetic factors. Leukemia develops when the DNA of blood cells mutate. These mutations instruct the cell to grow and separate at a much faster rate and continue to live past the time where they would normally die. As time goes on, these mutates cells can quickly overpopulate healthy blood cells, which then causes the symptoms and signs of leukemia.
Depending on the type of leukemia, the symptoms will vary. Some of the most prevalent include: chills or fever, constant weakness and fatigue, weight loss without trying, persistent infections, swollen lymph nodes, liver or spleen, small red dots on your skin, easy bleeding or bruising, persistent sweating at night, bone tenderness or pain. Be sure to contact your doctor if any of these signs and symptoms are persistent, but be aware that the symptoms of leukemia are usually not specific to the disease and quite vague. Sometimes they are ignored because they seem to be symptoms of the flu or any other common disease.
There are also different types of leukemia. With acute leukemia the mutated blood cells are immature blood cells, also called blasts. They are unable to perform their normal function and multiply quickly, so the disease develops rapidly. This kind of leukemia calls for both timely and persistent treatment. Chronic leukemia deals with much more mature blood cells that can either adapt or replicate more slowly and can also act normally for a length of time. There are some kinds of chronic leukemia that are asymptomatic initially and go undiagnosed for years.
One of the most common types of leukemia is acute myelogenous leukemia and occurs in both children and adults. As this kind of leukemia can quickly get out of hand, it has to be treated swiftly. Using a bone marrow donor is one of the more popular forms of treatment for this kind of leukemia. A bone marrow donor is usually the next step in treatment when patients don’t respond to chemotherapy alone and aren’t likely to go into remission.
