The Common Symptoms OF Leukaemia
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Leukaemia is also known as blood cancer. Leukaemia can be acute or chronic. This form of cancer is largely divided based on the blood cells they affect. You have essentially two kinds of leukaemia – myelocytic leukaemia and lymphocytic leukaemia.
The blood cells in the body develop from the stem cells, which are found in the bone marrow. The white blood cells fight off infections and the red blood cells carry oxygen to the rest of the body. Platelets are another type of blood cells, which help to clot the blood.
Leukaemia occurs when the number of white blood cells grow at an alarming rate and crowd around the normal red and white blood cells. This makes it difficult for the normal blood cells to do their job. The leukaemia cells do not die but continue to grow at a fast pace.
Common Symptoms OF Leukaemia
In order to understand the symptoms of leukaemia, let us first understand the kinds of leukaemia. In chronic leukaemia, the condition develops slowly and the symptoms often get worse with time. The disease may be detected during a routine check up. The common symptoms are swollen lymph nodes and repeated infections.
In acute leukaemia, the onset of the disease is very rapid and sudden and the severity of the symptoms is profound. The causes of leukaemia are several – smoking, radiation, exposure to benzene, genetics and atomic bomb explosions are some of the causes. The symptoms of the disease vary depending on where the cancer cells in the body collect.
Leukaemia in the brain
In cases of acute leukaemia in the brain, the cancer cells make the person feel very sick. The person also starts to experience severe headaches, vomiting, confusion, loss of muscle control and seizures.
Fever
An unexplained fever may begin to occur in people suffering from leukaemia. The fever may be low grade or very high. Night sweats due to the fever are very common.
Swollen Lymph Nodes
The lymph nodes in the neck region and armpit region swell up without any outward symptoms. They may also be painless and not tender to touch.
Frequent Infections
Once the normal white cells of the body begin to get affected, the person’s immunity goes down and he/she becomes susceptible to infections. The person may suddenly fall ill; develop colds, coughs, stomach ailments, lung conditions and a host of other diseases.
Fatigue
Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of leukaemia. This happens when the red blood cells that carry oxygen to the rest of the body get affected. Their function of carrying oxygen is drastically reduced and this is manifested in the form of fatigue, unusual tiredness and weakness.
Bleeding and Bruising Easily
Once the platelets in the body begin to get affected, the body’s blood clotting ability reduces. This manifests itself in the form of easy bruising, uncontrolled bleeding and formation of purple and blue patches on the skin.
Weight loss
The person, as a combined effect of the above symptoms, begins to lose weight at a rapid rate. Pain in the bones and the jointsIf the blood cancer reaches the bones, then this can also develop into full-fledged bone cancer and can cause acute bone and joint pain.
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