Without the Whitecoat
Leukemia... when it hits home
In our lives we won't know whatever will hit us especially in our golden years. Who on this earth can predict that we will get leukemia along the way? A good doctor could not tell if we can't get leukemia without any sign, symptoms, abnormal hematological findings and with some help of tumor markers, or just plain history within the family or just some risk factors like smoking or a mere exposure to some carcinogens in the workplace.
It has always been preached by a lot of medical practitioners that half of the battle has been fought if we know full heartedly what had hit us, in simple terms knowing the disease entity that affected us. Leukemia is a little bit hard for some layman to comprehend. So, it is therefore my job to shed light and simplify things so the local community can take a grasp of what leukemia is.
Leukemia is a disorganized proliferation of white blood cells in the bone marrow (this is where all the blood cells originate). Thus, primarily the defect is seen in the production of red blood cells, platelets, and normal white blood cells when it comes out of the bone marrow which is acted upon by the leukemic cells. Once we have the proliferation of these leukemic cells the end organs that are all serviced or supplied by blood and its products will all be affected like the liver, spleen, lymph nodes, testes, and the brain and which they will stop to function properly as it becomes infiltrated by the leukemic cells. Leukemia is classified into an acute and chronic type. They are also classified in the type of white blood cell that is involved like lymphocytes and its immature precursors, the lymphoblast, thus they are called the lymphocytic or lymphoblastic leukemia. For those that are derived from other types of white blood cells and its precursors there are what we call myeloid, myeloblastic or granulocytic leukemia. Remember that the acute type of leukemia generally develops more rapidly than the chronic type. Reality will reveal that out of a population of 100,000 there will be 13 new cases of leukemia seen annually in the US, in which 6 to 7 deaths can be attributed.
Acute leukemia is produced when the white blood cells is in excess within the bone marrow, thus there is proliferation of immature cells called blast. Acute leukemia if left untreated can be fatal within few weeks to months. With today's technology and treatment modalities it looks promising that it will prolong life and it may even provide a complete cure.
It will only take a single white blood cell to mutate with its alteration in the genetic composition and structure the cells will undergo a series of divisions until millions to billions of copies of the abnormal cells are present in the bone marrow, blood and other tissues. These mutations of normal cells into abnormal cells can be brought about by virus, exposure to certain chemicals like benzene and some anticancer drugs, radiation, and other inherited factors which increases the incidence of genetic disorders and chromosomal abnormalities. The signs and symptoms will be secondary to the overcrowding of the abnormal cells thus the failure of the bone marrow to produce normal blood cells of all types. This leaves the persons that are afflicted with leukemia to be highly susceptible to serious infections, anemia and bleeding episodes.
These are symptoms that are seen in leukemia like gum bleeding that results from insufficient production of platelet (needed to arrest bleeding) by the bone marrow, bone tenderness or pain which is caused when the bone marrow becomes packed with immature white cells, frequent bruising is caused with reduced number of platelets which may lead to bleeding in the skin and around areas of trauma, headache is brought about by anemia or when the abnormal white blood cells affects the nervous system, lymph nodes in the armpits, neck and the groin areas become enlarged and swollen with a large numbers of immature white cells and also seen in the liver, spleen and testes. Being tired (tiredness) all the time, pallor, and shortness of breath upon exertion can be seen in cases of anemia. Since the white blood cells play a major and important role in infections, the patients afflicted with leukemia are prone to and may suffer from repeated bouts of chest and throat infections, herpes zoster, and other skin infections.
Treatment includes transfusion of blood and platelets, the use of anticancer drugs to kill leukemic cells, radiation therapy is more commonly given in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia than for an acute myeloblastic leukemia. The goal of treatment is either removal of the leukemic cells from the bone marrow or rendering the state of remission. Outlook or prognosis wise, patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia are generally better than compared to acute myeloblastic leukemia, it is better in children than adults.