Leukemia is cancer of the blood cells. In leukemia, the bone marrow starts to make a lot of abnormal white blood cells (leukemia cells). These abnormal cells out number the healthy cells gradually leading to anaemia, bleeding and infection. The exact cause of leukemia is unknown but risk factors have been identified. leukemia is grouped into how quickly the disease spreads (acute or chronic) and which blood cells are affected ((lymphocytes or myelocytes).

TYPES OF LEUKEMIA
Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).
It mainly affect adults. It affects the myleoid cells and usually grow slowly at first. It has little or no symptoms in the initial stages. It is usually diagnosed in the chronic stage when treatment is very effective for most people.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) 
This kind almost never affects children. It is found in people over 55 years. It affects the lymphoid cells and grows slowly. It is the most common chronic adult form of leukemia. You may feel well for years and not need any treatment.

Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL)
Most common types of leukemia in children even though adults may get it. It affects lymphoid cells and grows very quickly

Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML)  
It is the most common type of acute leukemia in adults. It affects children too. It grows rapidly and affects the myleoid cells.

There are also rare types of leukemia like hairy cell leukemia

RISK FACTORS
Smoking  
This increases your risk of AML.

Past chemotherapy or radiation for another cancer makes you a high risk candidate of this cancer.

Exposure to high levels of radiations.   
Exposure to these high levels of radiation greatly increases your chance of getting the disease. eg nuclear bomb accidents increases these high level radiations.

Family history. 
If members of your family have been diagnosed with leukemia, you have a high risk of getting it too.

Exposure to chemicals   
Exposure to chemicals like benzene can cause AML. Benzene is widely used in the chemical industry and found in gasoline and cigarette smoke.

Genetic disorders .
Genetic or inherited disorders such as down syndrome increases your risk.
Blood disorders Myelodysplastic syndrome and certain other blood disorders increases your risk of AML.
Human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I): increases your risk of rare type of leukemia called adult T-cell leukemia.

TREATMENT
Treatment is based on a lot of factors like type of leukemia, overall health and age.

Chemotherapy 
This is the major form of treatment for leukemia. The drugs are used to kill the cancer cells. You may have a pill or injection into your vein depending on the type of leukemia you have.

Radiation Therapy
X-rays or other high-energy beams are used to damage leukemia cells and stop their growth.

Stem cells transplant   
The aim of this type of procedure is to destroy the cells in your bone marrow including leukemia cell and replace them with normal healthy cell. .

THERE IS NO KNOWN PREVENTION FOR LEUKEMIA

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My wife was suffering from Acute Leukemia. She died on 23rd Jan 2008. Her disease was diagnosed very late when she was in the 3rd stage. When I came to know about the fact, I did intense search on the internet and gained knowledge about the Leukemia. Had I known those facts earlier, her life could have been saved. I have collected some information and I am uploading it on blog so that it can help some one.What is leukemia? In simple words it is, "Too many white blood cells in the body". Blood contains three types of cells

RBC - Red Blood Cells (Carry Oxygen)

WBC - White Blood Cells (Also called leukocytes, they are part of body's immune system. These cells have several subcategories and they have roles to fight with the invaders such as bacteria, viruses and foreign proteins.

Platelets - Helps in blood clotting.

These cells are produced inside bone marrow that presents inside the bone cavities. Leukemia affected bone marrow produces large number of abnormal white blood cells making patient extremely fragile to infection. Leukemia can be acute or chronic. Acute Leukemia is most dangerous.

Examples of Acute Leukemia are.

• Acute myelocytic leukaemia (AML)
• Acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL)

Examples of Chronic Leukemia are.

•  Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL)
•  Chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML)

It is possible to have chronic leukaemia for months or even years without knowing it.

What are the symptoms?

• Tiredness due to Anemia.
• Paleness of the face.
• Bruising easily even without falling. A purple/dark red spot around bruise indicates less platelet count.
• Repeated Infections.
• Weight Loss.
• Loss of appetite.
• Fever.
• Sweats.
• Enlarged Lymph Glands.
• Fever.
• Enlarged spleen cause enormous pain in the stomach.
• Bleeding from Gum, Nose and Ears due to lack of platelets in the blood stream.

What cause Leukaemia?
The causes are not very clearly known some reasons are...

• Genetic Effects.
• Exposure to retroviruses.

How it is diagnosed?
Many times it is diagnosed by chance when blood test is performed for other reasons. Doctors can diagnose based on the blood reports but bone marrow test is used to confirm the diagnosis. Special test such as chromosome study is performed to classify the Leukaemia.

What is the treatment?
It usually involves intensive chemotherapy. Drugs are given as injection into veins. Other chemotherapy drugs such as fludarabine (Fludara) may be used in late stage disease. In bone marrow failure steroid treatment is given to recover the bone marrow. Chemotherapy drugs are very strong and have some side effects like fatigue, loss of hair and loss of appetite. It also kills the healthy bone marrow thus making patient weaker. These drugs can not distinguish between healthy and ill cells. Milder cases can be cured by regular blood transfusion. X-ray therapy (Radiation) given to infected lymph or to whole body depends on the level of the disease. In some cases bone marrow transplant can be done but this is very expensive treatment and out of the reach of a poor common man. Patient need a matching bone marrow donor as body easily rejects foreign bone marrow. Fifty to sixty percent patients live normal life after bone marrow transplant. Since this disease can occur any time again so regular monitoring is required.

I hope that this article would be informative. I am also writing an article how cancer can be cured using Pranayam, Yoga, Food and Natural herbs. I will also talk about the website alternative cancer care and about the Green Blood.

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Leukemia is a condition in which the bone marrow produces abnormal white cells. Leukemia is divided into acute and chronic types. The acute type is further sub-divided into acute lymphocytic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia. Similarly, the chronic type is also sub-divided into chronic lymphocytic leukemia and chronic myeloid leukemia. People exposed to certain chemicals, chemotherapy, high levels of radiation and the HTLV- I virus, as also those suffering from Down's syndrome and myelodysplastic syndrome, are at an increased risk for leukemia. Common symptoms include fever, weakness, headache, frequent infections, a bleeding tendency, joint pain, swollen lymph nodes, weight loss, and an enlarged spleen. Chemotherapy, biological therapy, radiation therapy and bone marrow transplant are the standard line of treatment for this condition.

The Ayurvedic treatment of leukemia is aimed at treating the basic pathology of the disease, controlling the symptoms, reducing the side effects of modern therapy and improving survival. Medicines used in this condition are Arogya-Vardhini, Maha-Manjishthadhi-Qadha, Saarivasav, Guduchyadi-Qadha, Panch-Tikta-Ghrut, Panch-Tikta-Ghrut-Guggulu, Praval-Panchamrut-Ras, Kamdudha-Ras, Chandrakala-Ras, and Sutshekhar-Ras. Medicines which act on the 'Ratka' dhatu (tissue) are useful in this condition. These include medicines like Patol (Tricosanthe dioica), Kutki (Picrorrhiza kurroa), Saariva (Hemidesmus indicus), Patha ( Cissampelos pareira) and Musta (Cyperus rotundus). In addition, medicines which act on the 'Majja' dhatu are also very useful in this condition. These medicines include Guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia) and Amalaki (Emblica officinalis).

In addition, medicines like Abhrak-Bhasma, Heerak-Bhasma, Suvarna-Bhasma, Suvarna-Malini-Vasant, Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus), Samudrashosh (Argyreia speciosa), Bala (Sida cordifolia), Nagbala (Grewia hirsuta) and Musli (Asparagus adscendens) are used to improve the immune status of the body.

Prolonged and repeated courses of Ayurvedic medicines are usually needed in order to get a good response in this condition and prevent a relapse. All such patients should be under the regular care and supervision of a Hematologist.

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There are some diseases that occur without much of the fault of the sufferers. One of the most horrible diseases is Cancer and among Cancer if there is anything that is quite dangerous, it is the Leukemia. It is the Cancer of the blood or bone marrow. Its quite dangerous and difficult to cure.

There are two main types of Leukemia, the Acute and the Chronic. When the immature blood gets weight age in the body and it is increased more than the mature blood, it gets converted into Leukemia. In this type an immediate treatment is must as if the blood gets circulated in majority of the parts of body, it becomes difficult to handle the situation and that results into the blocking of bone marrow to produce healthy blood cells. So, the curing should be deadly faster. Also the lymphocytes Leukemia and myelogenous Leukemia are also the other types of this disease.

Leukemia Symptoms are difficult to find outer as it is totally internal process. If in any of the reports it is found to have the damage of bone marrow or even the lack of platelets can be the reason of this cancer. Other symptom can be the suppressing or dysfunctional behavior of White Cells in Blood without any reason. Leukemia prevents the immune system so if there are complains of frequent infections or even the tonsils, sores in mouth are felt, diarrhea, pneumonia or even the opportunistic infections are felt than there are bright chances of converting the diseases into Leukemia.

Causes of Leukemia
There are no visible reasons of Leukemia as such but still artificial ionizing radiation, different type of viruses that cause the blood platelets balancing problem and also the smoking or tobacco habit is the reason of this disease to occur to certain extent.
There are some of the people in whom the maternal-fatal transmission has become the reason for the Leukemia occurrence. Also some of the people are found to have the genetic predisposition as the reason of this disease to happen.

Treatment of Leukemia
The treatment is difficult yet not impossible as some of the medication treatment are required to get cured and beside this there are also the radiation therapy and bone marrow transplantation are the treatments of this diseases. But still nothing gives guarantee as the diagnosis has no outer symptoms and the stage in which the diseases are approached is also important.

So, have the best treatment and better curing of the diseases that is quite difficult to handle, Leukemia.

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Leukemia is a form of cancer that develops in the bone marrow of human beings. Leukemia is usually caused by an uncontrolled production of blood cells. Those blood cells that produce at astronomical rates are the white blood cells. There are two forms of leukemia; acute leukemia and chronic leukemia. Acute leukemia makes the bone marrow extremely crowded and prevents the bone marrow from producing healthy blood cells. This type of leukemia occurs mostly in children and long adults. In children, this is an extremely common cause of death and should be treated immediately. If not treated immediately, the malignant cells will spread to other tissues and organs throughout the body.

Chronic leukemia usually takes months or sometimes even years to develop in one's body and progress to the state of acute leukemia. Chronic leukemia is most common to occur in older adults but there is the possibility of it occurring in any age group. Once detected, treatment isn't necessarily needed immediately. Sometimes doctors will hold off on treatment to find the best way to handle the disease after they monitor its development.

There is no definitive way to prevent leukemia but avoiding such risk factors as smoking, avoiding exposure to chemicals and avoiding exposure to radiation might help prevent the development of leukemia.

Below are the symptoms of leukemia:

• Dizziness 
• Nausea 
• Swollen tonsils 
• Fever, chills, night sweats and other flu-like symptoms 
• Bone pain 
• Joint pain 
• Unintentional weight loss 
• Paleness 
• Weakness and fatigue 
• Diarrhea 
• Malaise 
• Swollen or bleeding gums 
• Frequent infection 
• Enlarged liver and spleen 
• Constant headaches

For each different type of leukemia, acute and chronic, there are different types of treatments. For acute leukemia patients are treated by induction chemotherapy. Induction chemotherapy is when doctors use different medicines to bring about new bone marrow remission. Treatments also include eliminating any remaining leukemia cells; which is called consolidation therapy. There is also preventative therapy. Preventative therapy is the process of preventing the cancer from spreading to the brain and the nervous system. If the patient is not responding to any of these treatments then doctors will recommend a bone marrow transplantation procedure. Many cases of acute leukemia can be cured and some of them might not be cured.

For chronic leukemia there is no definite cure. Most treatments are combined with chemotherapy and medicinal shots of prednisone and prednisolone. Despite the lack of a cure for chronic leukemia, these cases can be controlled for long periods of time without any setbacks.

There are four factors in determining how well the body will respond to leukemia treatment. Those four factors are the age of the patient, the percentages of leukemia cells in the blood and bone marrow, the degree to which specific systems of the body are affected by the leukemia and if there are any chromosome abnormalities in the leukemia cells.

Leukemia patients can seek counseling and support groups through the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute.

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Cancer in any form is a deadly disease. But when it affects the most vital components of the body then their fatality increases manifold. One such type of cancer is cancer of the blood, technically known as leukemia. Blood is the most important tissue of the body. It is the connective tissue which carries and supplies oxygen and other vital elements to the remotest parts of the body. The importance of blood can be understood by the fact that it is the most important of all the connective tissues which provide the nutrients and other vital elements to the body.

The most dangerous feature of leukemia is that it is related to the blood which has access to almost all body organs including the all important brain and heart. The incidence of cancerous cells being carried to the different parts of the body increases drastically due to this fact. Another striking aspect of the blood cancer is that it affects the leukocytes or the "white blood corpuscles" of the blood. These are the ones that protect the body from external infections. Thus the immunity of the body is seen to decrease drastically due to leukemia. The main effect of the disease is that the body starts producing infected and abnormal cells that hinder the function of blood i.e. carrying of oxygen.

A patient suffering from leukemia is seen to loose weight due to anemia. This happens because the cancerous cells are unable to carry the hemoglobin properly which is the chief source of iron to the body. And due to that the body looses all vitality. The situation of the patient becomes vulnerable because the brain also starts to dysfunction due to infected blood. Headache, night sweats etc. can be commonly seen to occur as an attachment to this deadly disease.

The people living in areas prone to radioactive waste disposal and activity are most common targets of leukemia. Overexposure to radioactivity causes the cells to mutate and function abnormally. The children who are diagnosed with Down syndrome have a high probability to develop leukemia. Over exposure to Benzene, the industrially important hydrocarbon is also a known cause of blood cancer. The abnormal cells are easily detected under the microscope. Thus the doctor suspicious of such a disease advises the patient for a bone marrow examination. The onset can be detected by the swollen lymph nodes of the body which are commonly found in armpits, around the neck and at the thigh.

Chemotherapy is the most effective but a very painful way of killing the cancerous cells. The patient is subjected to drugs orally. The patient undergoes tremendous pressure as he is injected with lot many chemicals at a time. Another treatment is through the radiation. It is also very treacherous way of getting treated. The patients are seen to loose hair and texture of skin.

Leukemia though very dangerous is still curable and the research in the field is also being done on an extensive basis. Proper treatment at the right time can prevent the reflux of this disease. Methods like bone marrow transplant, which may be required at a later stage, are also effective in treating the patient. Above all to over come with the disease a person needs to be loved and supported by all. Leukemia is fatal disease but life is mightier then it.

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There are numerous symptoms of leukemia which you might notice after being diagnosed. Having said that, many people are not sure if they should be worried if they notice new symptoms. It's generally recommended that you call your leukemia doctor when you notice things like frequent fevers, night sweats, as well as being tired for no reason and they persist for more than a couple of weeks.

Other issues you might notice happening for two weeks that should tell you to call your physician include swollen glands or new lumps in the neck, groin area, as well as under an arm. If you notice you are starting to bruise quicker or start bleeding from your gums, then those are also signs.

Watchful waiting refers to a time period when a leukemia doctor regularly checks on a patient but is not doing anything to treat them. It can also be called surveillance as well as observation. The point of the period is to figure out whether or not you will develop any symptoms. For older adults, it can be a choice for treatment.

During the period, medical and blood tests will be taken as well as scans during standard doctor appointments. In certain cases, watchful waiting can actually give better results than aggressive early stage treatment. The truth is, many people that are suffering from chronic lymphocycic leukemia live for a reasonable amount of time with no treatment. When you are considering other leukemia types, watchful waiting will never be recommended.

Right after being diagnosed with leukemia, you may want to know who you can see about symptoms. Quite a few health professionals are capable, so you can go to any of them. These people include nurse practitioners, family medicine physicians, physician assistants, internists, and also pediatricians. The leukemia doctor that will actually diagnose you will be a hematologist or a medical oncologist.

Dependent on the type of leukemia you could have, your choices can vary. Should you be dealing with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, you will likely go through a period known as watchful waiting. In that time, the goal is usually to see what occurs with your symptoms. If you see things such as night sweats, frequent fevers, rapid weight loss, or swollen glands, you will need to call the doctor.

No matter whether you have currently been diagnosed with leukemia or you think you might have it, it's a good plan to find out who to see next. For people who haven't been diagnosed, you will be referred to a specialist that will be able to conclusively detect whether or not you are dealing with it. These kind of professionals include medical oncologists and also hematologists.

Once you have been diagnosed, you will be able to get the help of others and won't be limited by just seeing a leukemia doctor. You'll be able to call a physician assistant, pediatrician, family medicine physician, or possibly a nurse in case you notice your signs and symptoms getting worse or lasting for over a couple of weeks.

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