Cancer is the uncontrolled growth and spread of the body cells. Do you know? We all have cancer cells in our body but there is a natural defense system that keeps this under control. A nutritious diet is the only thing that can help us keep the body’s natural defense system healthy. Despite this, due to fast pacing lifestyle, many of us do not have time to maintain our health. In return, we develop cancer. There are various types of cancers like blood cancer or leukemia cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, and more. One of the most common cancers that affect around 60K people per year and around 20K deaths the same year is Leukemia. Is Leukemia cancer treatment possible? Let’s find out.
Leukemia is the type of cancer that mainly affects the bone marrow. Do you know? Bone marrow is the part of our body that produces blood cells. Just imagine this scenario, our body can produce a certain number of blood cells, it takes time for them to grow and spread, and finally, after its life span (it is 120 days in the case of RBC and 13-20 days in the case of WBC) gets destroyed in the spleen. But if you are cancerous, there will be a rapid growth of the cells. Uncountable and unimaginable increase of blood cells overcrowds the blood and affects the entire system from proper functioning. This is Leukemia Cancer.
What are the Risk Factors?
Various risk factors have a close connection in developing leukemia.
Before heading into that section, we need to know that this cancer affects people over the age of 55, but nowadays it is also found in teens and kids under 15. I wanted to research “cancer in teens” in particular to know more about what the causes are and how to prevent and protect those innocents.
Now, coming back to the topic of risk factors, here
Viruses – Viruses are dramatically changing our lifestyle for many decades (it is the coronavirus now). Human T-Lymphotropic Virus (HTLV-1) has a link with leukemia.
Identical twins – If your siblings develop leukemia then there is a low chance of risking this disease.
Radiation therapy – This is the most common treatment method to reduce or destroy cancer cells. As there is a high chance of destroying the normal cells too, our body becomes more vulnerable to other side effects and diseases.
Chemotherapy – Like we all know that this is another common treatment method to destroy cancer cells. People who have undergone this are prone to other side effects like hair loss, nausea, and weight loss.
Hair Dyes – Yes, benzene content in the cleaning products and hair dyes can cause leukemia over time.
Electromagnetic fields – People who work under electromagnetic fields for a long time are prone to develop this cancer.
Similarly, long-term exposure to diesel, pesticides, and gasoline can also likely be a risk factor for leukemia.
What are the types of leukemia cancer?
The type of cancer is usually determined by the part of the blood cell it affects and the stage of WBC when affected.
The 4 types include:
- Acute
- Chronic
- Lymphocytic
- Myelogenous
Acute leukemia – this type gives no time, here the blood cells multiply quickly and leaves the bone marrow before it even grows well. This overcrowds the blood and causing many severe health risks.
Chronic leukemia – unlike the acute type, the chronic affects the fully matured blood cells.
Lymphocytic leukemia – This type affects the white blood cells and or otherwise called lymphocytes. We all know that this plays a vital role in our immune system. This is dangerous too, as it targets the whole immune system.
Myelogenous leukemia – This type targets the part of bone marrow itself rather than the blood cells that are produced.
Symptoms of leukemia
Leukemia has symptoms related to other illnesses too therefore a thorough diagnosis is required to confirm the disease.
Anemia – there will be a decrease in the number of red blood cells which means not having enough hemoglobin. Hemoglobin carries iron throughout the body and when it lacks causes shortness of breath and pale skin.
Frequent illnesses – as the types like lymphocytic mainly affect the WBC (our body’s military system), the person suffers from various other illnesses frequently. Even WBCs start affecting our body’s cells.
Improper blood clotting – Petechiae is a condition in which a person may develop red or purple spots all over the body. This happens when white blood cells overcrowd the platelets. The person bleeds easily and may not be able to heal quickly.
Other common symptoms are
- Weight loss
- Bone pain
- Weakness
- Fever
- Chills
- Nausea
- Tiredness
What are the leukemia cancer treatment methods?
As we discussed earlier, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are the two different treatment methods used in leukemia cancer treatment but still, this depends on what type a person has.
Surgery – This method is opted to remove the spleen but this again depends on the type and severity.
Stem Cell Transplantation – destroying the infected bone marrow either using chemotherapy or radiation therapy, replacing it with new stem cells that generate the noncancerous cells. This method is likely to produce good results in young than in older people.
Targeted therapy – in this method, tyrosine kinase inhibitors like imatinib are used to target the cancerous cells and destroy them alone. So far, this gave 90% successful results.
Summary
With the progress in the medical industry, remission is possible in cancer patients. Remission means a condition with no signs of cancer cells but still, periodic bone marrow checkups and blood tests may be required.
Like I said in my initial paragraph, a nutritious diet helps us fight all illnesses. Hope I will write a detailed article on it very soon.
