Treatment of Leukemia

Diagnosis of Leukemia :

Blood Test : A sample of blood is examined under a microscope to see what the cells look like and to determine the number of mature cells and blasts.
Bone Marrow test for Leukemia


Symptoms :
Common symptoms of leukemia are: Fever, chills, sore throat and other flu-like symptoms , Weakness and fatigue, Frequent infections, Loss of appetite and/or weight, Swollen or tender lymph nodes, liver or spleen, Easy bleeding or bruising, Tiny red spots (called petechiae) under the skin, Swollen or bleeding gums, Sweating, especially at night, Bone or joint pain .

Treatment of Leukemia :

Treatment for leukemia is complex. It varies with the type of leukemia, and it is not the same for all patients. The treatment depends not only on the type of leukemia, but also on certain features of the leukemia cells, the extent of the disease, and whether the leukemia has been treated before. It also depends on the patient's age, symptoms and general health.

Bone marrow transplantation is a way of allowing doctors to use very large doses of chemotherapy and radiotherapy to kill the cancerous cells. It is currently preferred in some centers to use peripheral blood stem cells from the donor. A second option is the Graft-versus-Leukemia effect, where the cells from the new marrow recognise the leukemia cells as cancerous and kill them. A few days before the transplant, the patient's marrow is destroyed with the treatment and a new bone marrow given back to the patient. The new healthy marrow is given in a bag through a drip, much like a blood transfusion. This new marrow finds its way through the blood back to the bones, and starts growing straight away. But it takes a few weeks before the new marrow is able to produce enough cells to fight off infections and prevent bleeding. During that time, the patient has to stay in hospital and be protected from and treated for any infections or signs of bleeding that may develop.

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells.
For patients who need repeated courses of intravenous chemotherapy, the doctors may suggest placing a semi-permanent catheter into a vein (sometimes known as a Hickman or J line). This is a thin plastic tube that goes under the skin on the chest into a vein in the neck or chest. Although it is painful immediately after it has been put in, the pain settles quickly and the patient can then have all injections, blood tests and blood transfusions through the catheter. This avoids having repeated injections and drips in the arms.

Radiotherapy (also called radiation therapy) uses high-energy rays like X-rays to stop cancer cells from growing and multiplying.

Biological Therapy (also called immunotherapy) involves treatment with substances that affect the immune system's ability to destroy cancer cells. The two available types of biological therapy are Interferon, which stimulates the immune system to kill cancer cells, and monoclonal antibodies, which stick to cancer cells to draw the immune system's attention to them. These are usually used in the chronic rather than the acute leukemia’s.

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