Facts, Types, and Effects of Leukemia

Cancer is defined as the unregulated growth of abnormal, mutated cells in the body. Yet perhaps the more routine understanding of the disease is its seriousness regarding an individual’s health. Cancer comes in numerous differing forms that collectively hold cancer as the second leading cause of death in the United States according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. An array of cancers can affect any organ system in any person no matter the gender, age, or race.

One chronic form of cancer is leukemia. At its basics, The National Library of Medicine describes leukemia as cancer of the blood and bone marrow, and while far more adults have leukemia than children, it is the most common type of pediatric cancer. Leukemia itself, has several different forms that appear in people. The four most predominant types are acute myelogenous leukemia (the most common acute form in adults), acute lymphocytic leukemia (the most common form in young children), chronic myelogenous leukemia, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (the most common chronic form in adults). According to the National Cancer Institute, the incidence of all types of leukemia as a whole was 12.8 per 100,000 U.S. citizens per year from 2006-2010, and there are around 290,000 U.S. citizens whom are currently living with the disease. The number of mortalities due to complications of leukemia is about 7 per 100,000 U.S. citizens annually, with only 56.0% of men, women, and children diagnosed with leukemia surviving 5 years or more post diagnosis. There was an estimated 50,000 total new cases of leukemia in 2013, however, relative to any and all other cancers leukemia makes up only a mere 3% of new cancer cases each year in the United States. As stated by the Leukemi...

... middle of paper ...

...cal Encyclopedia." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. Department of Health and Humane Services, 3 Feb. 2104. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.

"Disease Information & Support." Leukemia | The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. LLS, 2013. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.

"Fighting Blood Cancers: 2013 Facts." Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. LLS, Aug. 2013. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.

"Leading Causes of Death." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11 Jan. 2013. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.

"Leukemia." PubMed Health. Ed. A.D.A.M. Editorial. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 03 Apr. 2013. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.

Mayo, Clinic Staff. "Leukemia." Diseases and Conditions: Leukemia. Mayo Clinic, 3 Oct. 2013. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.

"Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program Turning Cancer Data Into Discovery." Leukemia. National Cancer Institue, 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.