A form of cancer characterized by the unusual production of white blood cells, leukemia can be classified into two types; acute leukemia and chronic leukemia. Induction chemotherapy, consolidation therapy, allogeneic bone marrow transplantation and CNS prophylaxis are the treatments for the disease. To avoid the prognosis of the disease, patients should know the different symptoms of leukemia.
Flu-like Symptoms
Some medical professionals fail to detect the disease during the early stages because the symptoms are similar with other diseases like flu and anemia. During these stages, patients can experience fever and chills. The other symptoms include tiredness, weakness, fatigue and shortness of breath. Nosebleeds and loss of appetite are common among people who are suffering from this disease.
Recurrent Infections
Aside from flu-like symptoms, patients with leukemia can also experience recurrent infections. Such symptoms are common among children with the disease because they do not have mature white blood cells, which are important to combat infections. Recurrent cough and runny nose are signs that patients are suffering from the disease.
Pain in Joints and Bones
Experiencing pain in joints and bones is a common symptom of leukemia. The pain can be severe or mild. The pain is caused by the proliferation of white blood cells in bone marrow.
Abdominal Distress
Another symptom of the disease is abdominal distress. This symptom can be detected by collecting samples from the spleen, kidney and liver. This symptom can cause weight loss and loss of appetite.
Swollen Lymph Nodes
Swollen lymph nodes also indicate that a patient is suffering from the disease. These are commonly seen in the chest, neck and groin of patients. The symptoms are diagnosed when medical professionals collect samples from patients.
Dyspnea or Breathing Difficulty
A patient suffering from this disease can experience dyspnea or difficulty in breathing. This condition happens when cancer cells cover the thymus gland. Another cause of this condition is the presence of cell mass in the middle part of the chest.
More Points on Leukemia
Leukemia is a serious health condition that can lead to death if it is not treated immediately. The disease can be caused by artificial and natural ionizing radiation as well as exposure to human T-lymphotropic virus. In addition, patients with down syndrome are prone to suffer from acute myeloid leukemia, Fanconi anemia and acute leukemia. Above all, exposure to chemotherapy agents can also cause the development of this type of cancer.
There are different treatment options offered to patients with this medical condition. Induction chemotherapy involves the use of several drugs like prednisone, anthracycline and vincristine. CNS prophylaxis is helpful in preventing the proliferation of cancer cells in the nervous system. Intensification therapy or consolidation therapy includes the use of drugs like 6-mercaptopurine and methothrexate.
To treat relapsed or high-risk patients, medical professionals recommend them to undergo allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. After removing cancer cells, it is important that patients undergo maintenance treatments. These treatments include the use of chemotherapeutic drugs, but this time, the drugs are given on low dosages.
The chances of survival of patients are high if the medical condition is identified during the early stage. To detect the disease at this stage, it is important that patients know the different leukemia symptoms like dyspnea and swollen lymph nodes.