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Early Symptoms of Leukemia and Its Treatment
By Raveena M Prakash
Leukemia is a type of blood cancer, and it often comes silently in people. The early symptoms of leukemia include frequent bleeding, frequent infections, fatigue, and, in some cases, the common cold. Recognizing early symptoms of leukemia can be life-saving, as timely diagnosis and proper treatment make a huge difference in improving the quality of life and extending the overall life expectancy.
In this blog, we’ll discover the most common symptoms, causes, and leukemia treatments and why it's not essential to not ignore them!
What is leukemia?
Leukemia is a blood cancer that often affects the body’s blood-forming tissues, and this mainly includes the bone marrow and the lymphatic system. This type of blood cancer causes the overproduction of white blood cells that destroys the healthy cells, including healthy blood cells and platelets, which eventually disrupts the body’s ability to fight infections, carry oxygen, and control bleeding.
Different types of leukemia
There are mainly four types of leukemia, including:
- Acute lymphocytic leukemia: This is the most common type of leukemia observed in children, teens, and adults up to the age of 39. However, all types of age groups can develop this disease.
- Acute myelogenous leukemia: This is one of the most common types of acute leukemia in adults. However, it's more common in older adults, those over 65 years old. It also occurs in children.
- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia: This is another chronic leukemia found in adults above the age of 65. The symptoms may not appear for several years.
- Chronic myelogenous leukemia: This type of leukemia is often common in older adults above the age of 65 years. However, it can affect adults at a young age as well.
Early symptoms of leukemia you shouldn’t ignore!
The early symptoms of leukemia often come as non-specific. Some of them are signs of any less-serious medical conditions, which eventually makes people ignore and overlook. However, some symptoms can vary depending upon the type of leukemia. Common symptoms and signs include:
Persistent weakness and fatigue
If you are feeling constantly tired, even after a rest, consider this as a sign. Leukemia affects the blood cells, leading to anemia and reduced oxygen supply to the tissues.
Frequent infections
Abnormal blood cells in the body fail to fight against infections, if you are falling ill frequently or struggling to recover, it could be a sign of leukemia.
Unexplainable bleeding and bruising
If you experience gum bleeding, nose bleeding or get bruises easily, or get cuts frequently it could be a sign of platelets problem due to leukemia.
Bone pain and joint pain
Leukemia cells mostly crowd in the bone marrow, causing pain and tenderness in bones and joints. People with leukemia often get pain in their legs or arms.
Swollen lymph nodes
Swelling can be often found in the neck, armpit, groin area due to the spread of abnormal cells to lymph nodes.
Fever or cold or Night sweats
Fever appears without any infection, or night sweats are a sign that something is wrong with your immune system.
Pale skin
A low level of blood cells in the body count causes paleness. If your skin starts to seem unusually pale or washed out, it could be due to anemia.
Loss of appetite and sudden weight loss
Sudden weight loss or feeling quickly after any meal could be a sign of an enlarged spleen pressing your stomach.
Shortness of breath
With low levels of blood cells in the body, your body gets less oxygen. Climbing stairs or performing any small physical activity might leave you breathless.
Here are some other symptoms:
- Enlarged liver or spleen
- Red spots in the skin
- Anemia
- Dizziness
- Lightheadness
The symptoms of acute leukemia often develop over a few weeks. Some of the early symptoms are fever and fatigue and might get confused with the symptoms of a less serious common cold.
How is leukemia treated?
The treatment depends on factors such as the type of leukemia, the patient's age, and overall health issues. It also depends on whether the leukemia has spread into other distant organs or tissues.
Common treatments may include:
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is one of the common treatments preferred for leukemia. It involves destroying the leukemia cells or stopping them from multiplying rapidly in the body. During the treatment, the oncologist gives the drugs in the form of a pill, or injects chemo drugs into a vein, or gives a shot under the skin.
Immunotherapy
This treatment uses certain drugs to stimulate the body’s immune system to fight against leukemia. Immunotherapy helps the patient’s immune system to identify cancer cells. It produces more immune cells.
Targeted therapy
This treatment uses specific drugs that are mainly designed to attack leukemia cells that are causing them to overtake normal blood cells. Targeted therapies help to prevent leukemia cells from multiplying, cut off the cells' blood supply, or destroy them immediately. This treatment is less likely to harm normal cells.
Radiation therapy
This treatment uses high-energy beams of X-rays to destroy or kill leukemia cells or stop them from rapidly growing and multiplying. During treatment, a machine is placed near the body to give radiation to the spots in the body. In some cases, the radiation is given to the whole body of a patient.
Bone marrow transplant
This is one of the effective treatments used to replace the cancerous blood-forming cells destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation therapy with new, healthy hematopoietic cells. An oncologist might remove the healthy cells from the patient’s blood or bone marrow before performing chemo or radiation, or they may come from a donor.
CAR T Cell transplant
This is a type of immunotherapy that uses the body’s infection-fighting T cells (T cells are a type of immune cell). It helps them to fight cancerous cells and infuse them back into the body.
Why early detection matters
Leukemia can progress quickly, especially if it is in its acute forms. Early detection of leukemia helps to improve a patient’s prognosis and chances of survival. It's highly significant to be tested soon if anyone is suspected of having leukemia. An early detection allows quicker medical intervention, more effective treatment options, and helps to improve the quality of life.
Here’s why early diagnosis matters:
- Improved treatment results: Early detection allows the patients to get timely and effective treatments, which can be considered more successful for controlling diseases.
- A wide variety of treatment options: Early diagnosis helps to explore a wide range of treatment options. It mainly includes potentially less invasive treatment options.
- High chance of remission: Detecting leukemia in the early stages helps to increase the chance of achieving remission, where there are no detectable leukemia cells in the blood and bone marrow. With this, the blood cells are returning to their normal levels.
- Decreases the mortality rates: Early detection and timely treatment reduce the risk of death counts connected with leukemia.
- Better quality of life: Early detection reduces the overall impact of leukemia and its side effects. It helps to improve patients' overall health.
- Prevention of any future complications: Early detection can help to prevent any future complications such as infections and bleeding disorders that are caused by leukemia.
When should you visit a doctor
It's important to visit a doctor if you notice any changes in your body that are potential symptoms of leukemia, especially if these symptoms get worse over time.
If any of the above-mentioned symptoms stay more than two weeks, then get a consultation and start immediate treatments without fail.
Consult Today
Leukemia is a serious condition; however, early diagnosis can make a significant difference in the effectiveness of treatment and the chances of survival. People who are experiencing symptoms such as continuous fatigue, frequent infections, or unusual bruising, or any of the symptoms, shouldn’t ignore getting the diagnosis and further treatments. Never ignore or overlook these symptoms. Take charge of your health by taking proactive steps.
At Oncare, we offer high-quality cancer treatments at affordable price packages with experienced cancer specialists' consultation.
If you or any loved ones of yours are diagnosed with cancer, then visit Oncare Cancer Center and book an appointment with our cancer specialist today! Get an estimated cost of your blood cancer treatment today!
Frequently Asked Questions
Unfortunately, there is no cure for leukemia, but it doesn’t mean patients won’t achieve long-term remission. When the leukemia is cured, it won't mean that the cancer is completely gone. It means that the cancer is not coming back, and no more treatment is required. However, it cannot be sure in the case of leukemia.
The treatment of leukemia involves three phases.
These may include:
- Induction therapy: This treatment is given to kill the leukemia cells in the blood and bone marrow to achieve the state called remission. Once a patient reaches remission, the blood count starts to reach normal levels. This treatment often lasts up to six weeks.
- Consolidation: This treatment is also called intensification, and the goal of using this treatment is to kill any remaining or hidden leukemia cells in the body. It helps to reduce the risk of cancer recurrence in patients. Consolidation treatment is often given in cycles, which include four to six months.
- Maintenance therapy: This treatment is given to destroy the leukemia cells that might have survived the first two phases of treatment. It helps to prevent the cancer from returning, also known as relapse. The treatment might last for two years.
Anyone can develop leukemia in a lifetime, however studies have shown that there is a group of people, who are at high risk of developing leukemia.
This may include:
- History of smoking
- Previous history of cancer treatments
- Exposure to industrial chemicals
- Certain genetic disorders
- Family history of leukemia
Leukemia is caused by a genetic mutation in a single cell in the bone marrow of the body. This genetic mutation leads to the rapid growth of genetically mutated cells. The DNA decides when the cells need to grow, how to develop, and when to die.