Among the 10 most common cancers in the United States, leukemia begins in the cells of your bone marrow and can progress rapidly if not properly diagnosed and treated. The disease can occur in adults or children. Speak with a Bayhealth expert about treatment options.
What is Leukemia?
The main types of leukemia are classified by how rapidly they develop and whether they originated in myeloid or lymphoid cells, both of which are responsible for the development of cells that are important to your body’s immune system.
- Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) originates in the lymphoid cells and most commonly affects children and teenagers.
- Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) originates in the myeloid cells and most commonly affects adults 65 and older.
- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) originates in the lymphoid cells and most commonly affects adults. Noticeable symptoms may not appear for many years.
- Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) originates in the myeloid cells and most commonly affects adults. Noticeable symptoms may not appear for many years.
Other forms of leukemia exist, but they are rare.
Signs and Symptoms
The symptoms of leukemia depend on where the disease originated and how aggressive it is. In some cases, noticeable symptoms won’t develop for years and can be easy to mistake for more common conditions such as the flu. Those symptoms can include:
- Bone pain or tenderness
- Easily bruising or bleeding, including nosebleeds
- Fatigue or physical weakness
- Fever, chills, or night sweats
- Frequent or severe infections
- Rashes in the form of red spots or darkened skin patches
- Swollen lymph nodes or an enlarged liver or spleen
- Unexplained weight loss
Risk Factors & Prevention
Though the exact causes of leukemia remain unknown to experts, the following factors may increase your risk of developing some form of the disease.
- Previous cancer treatment: Undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy to treat unrelated cancers may increase the risk of developing leukemia later in life.
- Genetic disorders: Certain genetic abnormalities or disorders (for example: Down syndrome) can contribute to the development of leukemia.
- Chemical exposure: Industrial chemicals found in building materials or household cleaning products (such as benzene and formaldehyde) have been linked to an increased risk of leukemia.
- Smoking: Long-term cigarette use can increase the risk of developing acute myelogenous leukemia.
- Family history: Though it’s not always the case, a family history of leukemia may increase your risk of developing the disease yourself.
It’s important to remember that many individuals with known risk factors don’t end up developing leukemia, and many people with leukemia never encountered these risk factors.
Speak with a Bayhealth cancer expert about leukemia.
How We Diagnose Leukemia
Unlike most cancers, leukemia generally doesn’t show up on imaging tests (such as X-rays or CT scans) because the disease rarely forms noticeable tumors. For that reason, your Bayhealth cancer expert may use the following procedures to diagnose leukemia.
- Physical Exam: Various physical symptoms that could indicate leukemia include swollen lymph nodes, an enlarged spleen or liver, bleeding or swollen gums and skin rashes that are red, purple or brown in color. Your Bayhealth cancer expert will check for these symptoms and determine if further diagnostic testing is necessary.
- Blood Test: Though not all forms of leukemia can be detected through blood tests, a blood sample can determine if you have abnormal levels of red or white blood cells or platelets, which could suggest the presence of the cancer.
- Bone Marrow Test: Sometimes leukemia cells remain in the bone marrow, which must be confirmed through a bone marrow test. During this diagnostic procedure, a thin needle removes marrow from your hip bone for lab testing.
Treatment Options
Our multidisciplinary team works collaboratively to outline a treatment plan tailored to your specific needs. Experts from a range of specialties (such as medical and radiation oncology, radiology, and pathology) will discuss your condition and determine the best plan of action. Factors we consider when developing your treatment plan include the stage and location of the cancer and your personal medical history.
Treatments for leukemia include the following.
Medical Therapies
Our board-certified oncologists prescribe your medical therapy, and our highly trained nursing staff administers that therapy intravenously, orally, or through injection.
Among the medical treatments we provide are the following.
- Targeted Drug Therapy: This type of cancer treatment uses drugs to “target” cancer cells without affecting normal cells.
- Chemotherapy: This drug treatment uses powerful chemicals to kill fast-growing cancer cells in your body.
- Immunotherapy: This treatment option boosts your immune system, empowering it to fight and destroy cancer cells.
Radiation Therapy
Our team of board-certified radiation oncologists may use external beam radiation in combination with other treatments to address your cancer. Employing sophisticated technology, our therapists concentrate high-energy beams of radiation on the precise parts of your body affected by disease. This safe and accurate procedure may be administered routinely over a period of days or weeks.
Learn more about treatment options for cancer.
Support Services
Before, during, and after your cancer treatments, our experts remain dedicated to improving your quality of life. Our care team supports you in establishing healthy routines that help you stay in control of your daily symptoms. We also host support groups that provide patients and families opportunities to connect and share their experiences — because a strong network of support can help to make the realities of cancer more manageable.
- Cancer Support Community: A statewide non-profit organization, the Cancer Support Community is dedicated to helping people manage the emotional aspects of their cancer journey. Learn more about the Cancer Support Community.
Explore our classes, events, and support groups.
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are research studies that test cutting-edge drugs, procedures and technologies with the purpose of establishing new or better ways of treating cancer. The skilled nurses in our Clinical Research Program can help you find clinical trial options for your specific cancer.