What is Leukemia?

  Leukemia is a type a cancer. Cancer is a group of many related diseases. All cancers begin in cells, which made blood and other tissues. Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them. When cells grow old, they die and being replaced by new cells.

  Sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. Some of the cells become aggressive whereby they grow and divide without respect to normal limits, invasive whereby they invade and destroy adjacent tissues and sometimes metastatic whereby they spread to other locations in the body. Leukemia is cancer that begins in blood cells.

Types of Leukemia

  There are four main types of leukemia. They are grouped according to how quickly the disease progresses and which white blood cells are affected. Acute leukemia progresses rapidly. Chronic leukemia progresses more slowly.There may be an increased number of the white cells that play an important part in the immune system (lymphocytes) or an increased number of the white cells that normally help the body fight infection (myelocytes). These cells are abnormal and do not work properly. The four main types of leukemia are:

• Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The progress of this type of Leukemia is rapid. ALL is the most common type of leukemia in children but may also affect adults.
• Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). The progress of this type of Leukemia is rapid. AML is the most common type of leukemia among both children and adults.
• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Increased number of white cells that play in important part in the immune system( lymphocytes). CLL mostly affects people older than 55 years of age and almost never affects children.
• Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Increase number of the white cells that normally help the body fight infection (myelocytes). CML occurs mostly in adults and accounts for approximately 4,600 new cases each year in the United States.

Normal Cells VS Leukemia Cells

Normal Cells

Leukemia

As we might know that blood cells are formed in the bone marrow. What is Bone marrow? Bone marrow is the soft material in the center of most bones. Immature blood cells are called stem cells and blasts. Most blood cells mature in the bone marrow and then move into the blood vessels. Blood that flows through the blood vessels and heart is called the peripheral blood.   The bone marrow makes different types of blood cells. There are three types with special functions: White blood cell helps fight infection Red Blood Cell carries oxygen throughout the body. Platelets help form blood clots that control bleeding.

For the people with leukemia, the bone marrow produces abnormal white blood cells. The abnormal cells are leukemia cells. At first, leukemia cells function almost normally. In time, they may crowd out normal white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. This makes it hard for blood to do its work.

©Copyrighted product from Surprising info Center(2008)-Authors:Lee Yih Jun, Ho Sie Cheng, Hii King Chai, Kee Hwaai Shian, Chua Caipern