What do you mean by leukemia?
Leukemia is cancer of the body’s blood-forming tissues, including the bone marrow and the lymphatic system. Many types of leukemia exist. Some forms of leukemia are more common in children. Other forms of leukemia occur mostly in adults.
Can leukemia go away?
Leukemia can go away. People sometimes call this a “cure.” But your doctor may use the term “remission” instead of “cure” when talking about the effectiveness of your treatment. Many people who have leukemia are successfully treated, but the term remission is used because cancer can return (recur).
Does Leukemia reduce life expectancy?
Latest figures show that the 5-year survival rate for all subtypes of leukemia is 61.4 percent. A 5-year survival rate looks at how many people are still alive 5 years after their diagnosis. Leukemia is most common in people aged over 55, with the median age of diagnosis being 66.
Is leukemia curable in the elderly?
If you are an older adult diagnosed with leukemia, you have treatment options — even at age 99. Learn more from a doctor who specializes in treating leukemia in older adults.
How bad is stage 4 leukemia?
Stage IV. This is the most serious stage. The key is that your platelet count is low, which means your blood won’t clot well (thrombocytopenia). You may also have anemia, or swollen lymph nodes, spleen, or liver — or you might not.
What’s the worst type of leukemia?
In highly lethal type of leukemia, cancer gene predicts treatment response. Summary: Patients with the most lethal form of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) – based on genetic profiles of their cancers – typically survive for only four to six months after diagnosis, even with aggressive chemotherapy.
Are there stages of leukemia?
In this staging system, CLL is divided into 5 different stages, from 0 (zero) to IV (4). This staging system classifies the leukemia according to whether a patient has, or does not have, any of the following: Lymphocytosis, which means there are high levels of lymphocytes in the blood.
Can leukemia be inherited?
Leukemia is generally not considered a hereditary disease. However, having a close family member with leukemia increases your risk of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Can leukemia cause chest pains?
Difficulty Breathing or Dyspnea — With T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia, leukemia cells tend to clump together around the thymus gland. This mass of cells present in the middle of the chest can cause pain and difficulty breathing. Wheezing, coughing or painful breathing requires immediate medical attention.
Can leukemia cause back pain?
Bone and joint pain are seen as presenting symptoms in 25% of patients with acute leukemia, but generalized osteopenia and vertebral complications are less common. Back pain due to vertebral changes as an early feature has been infrequently reported.
Can leukemia cause shoulder pain?
recently reported a case of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) presenting as shoulder pain mimicking septic arthritis, and later diagnosed as myeloid sarcoma (MS) [1].
Can leukemia symptoms come and go?
Acute leukemia may cause signs and symptoms that are similar to the flu. They come on suddenly within days or weeks. Chronic leukemia often causes only a few symptoms or none at all.
Does leukemia cause muscle weakness?
If ALL spreads to the brain and spinal cord it can cause headaches, weakness, seizures, vomiting, trouble with balance, facial muscle weakness or numbness, or blurred vision. ALL may spread inside the chest, where it can cause fluid buildup and trouble breathing.