Download Leukemia

Leukemia
Sami Sasala
Brooke McVay
Tiffany Vandiver
What is it?
A malignant progressive disease in which the
bone marrow and other blood-flowing organs
produce increased numbers of immature or
abnormal leukocytes. These suppress the
production of normal blood cells, leading to
anemia and other symptoms.
What causes Leukemia? Is it inherited? Is it
environmentally induced?
The following factors increase your chance in getting leukemia:
Smoking and tobacco use
Being exposed to large amounts of radiation
Being exposed to certain chemicals in the workplace
Past chemotherapy or radiation for another cancer. (This is
rare, and not all chemotherapies raise your leukemia risk.)
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Leukemia is not necessarily inherited, however, people with cancer is
their families have a higher chance is getting it.
Leukemia can be environmentally induced if exposed to radiation
other harmful chemicals.
What effect does it have on
the body?
• It weakens your immune system
• Causes you to bruise very easily
• Effects bone marrow- bone
marrow stops producing white
and red blood cells
Stages
There are no stages classified for leukemia but there is a progression order to
figure out treatment plans and how far it has spread.
types of leukemiaacute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL)
Adult
child
-untreated
-standard(low) risk
-remission -high
-recurrent
-recurrent
Acute myeloid leukemia(AML)-whether it has spread outside blood or bone
marrow
chronic lymphocytic leukemia(LLL)stages 0 to 4
chronic myelogenous leukemia(CML)
chronic
accelerated
blastic
relapsed
Treatment
The treatment is based on many things such as age, type of leukemia,how far
its spread and what the doctor prefers.
most common treatments Chemotherapy-uses chemicals to kill leukemia cells
Radiation-uses X-ray with high energy to kill the cells and to prevent growth.
Stem cell transplant -to replace bad cells with healthy cells.
How is it detected?
signs-weak, frequent infection,unexplained
fever,abnormal bruising or excessive bleeding,enlarged
lymph nodes and headaches.
medical tests-blood test to check blood count
-biopsy to sample od cells
-spinal tap
-ct scans
-x-rays
-MRI
-ultrasound
Is there a cure?
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Chemotherapy- the use of drugs to fight cancer
Radiation Therapy- uses high doses of radiation, such
as X-Rays, to destroy cancer cells
Stem Cell Transplant- donated cells from a "matched"
donor can rebuild your supply of normal blood cells
and your immune system
Immunotherapy- uses your body's immune system,
either directly or indirectly to fight cancer
Is there a way to prevent it?
Ways to prevent Leukemia are:
• Do not smoke cigarettes
• Do not be exposed to benzene (classed as a
hydrocarbon)
• Previous Chemotherapy or Radiation
Additional Information
There are different types of Leukemia
depending on how fast it spreads and what
white blood cell it affects
o Chronic- gets worse slowly and may not cause symptoms for years.
o Acute-
gets worse very fast and may make you feel sick right away.
o Lymphocytic-
affects white blood cells called lymphocytes
o Myelogenous-
affects white blood cells called myelocytes
Support Groups
• Team AICR (American Institute for
Cancer Research)
• Alliance of Genetic Support Groups
Inc.
• Cancer Plus- Parent Support Group
Sources
• http://www.cancercenter.com
• http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/ty
pes/leukemia
• http://cancer.about.com/od/leukemia/
a/leukemiaprevent.htm
• http://www.medicinenet.com/leukemia
/article.htm