Essay On Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia

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Acute lymphocytic leukemia, or ALL, is a type of cancer that starts in the bone marrow where early blood cells are made. It is also called acute lymphoblastic leukemia. (American Cancer Society, 2016). Leukemia is cancer of the blood and the blood forming tissues. It is characterized by overproduction of lymphocytes. Acute leukemias involve lymphocytes that grow rapidly, but abnormally (Leukemia, 2016). According to American Cancer Society (2016), “The term ‘acute’ means that the leukemia can progress quickly, and if not treated, then it could be fatal within a few months. Lymphocytic means it develops from early forms of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cells.”
People with acute lymphocytic leukemia have too many lymphoid stem cells becoming B lymphocytes or T lymphocytes. The lymphocyte cells do not work properly causing these cells to become leukemia cells (National Cancer Institute, 2017). “Also, as the number of the leukemia cells increases in the blood and the bone marrow, there is less room for healthy white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. This may lead to infection, anemia, and easy bleeding” (National Cancer Institute, 2017). …show more content…

One known risk factor to acute lymphocytic leukemia is exposure to high energy levels of radiation (Leukemia, 2016). Sometimes treating cancer with radiation therapy can higher the risk of getting leukemia. The risk can be even higher if chemotherapy and radiation are both used during cancer treatment (American Cancer Society, 2016). Another risk factor to acute lymphocytic leukemia is exposure to certain chemicals including benzene (Leukemia, 2016). Acute Lymphocytic leukemia is not inherited, but there is some inherited syndromes with genetic change that raises the risk of having it (American Cancer Society,

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