Leukemia Essay

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Leukemia What is Leukemia? Leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells. It begins in the bone marrow, the soft tissue inside the bones. Within the bone marrow is where white blood cells are created, that help fight off bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms within the body that cause infections. The disease develops to when the white blood cells are being produced out of control. The cells that are being produced do not work properly as they should, they grow faster than a normal cell would and don’t know when to stop growing. Overtime, if not treated properly, the white blood cells will over crowd blood cells, creating a serious problem such as anemia, bleeding and infection. Leukemia cells can spread to the lymph nodes and other organs in the body causing swelling and pain. What different types of leukemia exist? - Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL): is a cancer of the bone marrow and the blood that progresses rapidly without treatment. This cancer is very common in children 1 to 19 years old. ALL affects the blood cells and immune system. It is very important to start treatment as soon as possible after diagnosis. - Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML): Is a cancer of the bone marrow and the blood that will progress quickly without treatment. This type of leukemia affects mainly the cells that aren’t fully developed. Therefore, making the cells not carry out their normal functions. With this type of dysfunctional activity in the cells at an early stage, this why it is very important to get care and treatment as soon as possible. - Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL): is a type of blood cancer that begins in the bone marrow. Depending on the patients and progress of the cancer, it will either grow... ... middle of paper ... ...s of getting it. A risk factor is only anything that raises your chance in getting the disease. Famous people with leukemia: - Ed Bradley, Broadcast journalist, CBS News “60 Minutes” • http://www.famouspeoplearehuman.com/famous-people-leukemia.htm - Robin Bush, Daughter of George H.W Bush • http://www.famouspeoplearehuman.com/famous-people-leukemia.htm - Bill Walsh, Pro Football Head Coach of San Francisco 49’ers • http://www.famouspeoplearehuman.com/famous-people-leukemia.htm Leukemia survivor: Created by: Mikayla D. Williams Peer Reviewed by: - - Websites: - http://www.webmd.com/cancer/tc/leukemia-topic-overview - http://www.lls.org/#/diseaseinformation/leukemia/ - http://leukemia.emedtv.com/leukemia/stages-of-leukemia.html

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