Leukemia!! i need info?
I'm wondering a few things:
How often do people worldwide die from leukemia?
Is 7, 8, 9 a normal age to be diagnosed with leukemia?
What is the most common type of leukemia in young girls (age 7, 8 ,9...)?
What causes leukemia in young girls?
Leukemia is a cancer of the blood. More basic easy-to-understand info about it please.
What are the symptoms of leukemia. How do people usually find out?
What processes are used to cure this cancer?
Unless the site has all the answers, please don't give me JUST a site. You can prove it w/ a site but please answer each question if you can.
At least try to answer one or two please!
Also, how do you provide more than 10 points for best answer?
I may sound like a jerk because I don't actually know anyone with leukemia BUT I'm writing a book and i need real solid facts.
Thanks so so much!
- TrueSnapdragon
People can be diagnosed with leukemia at any age. The most common type of leukemia in children is acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL. We don't know what causes most cases of leukemia, especially in children. It's thought that it's not one thing, but a combination. The person may have a genetic change that sets them up, and then a second thing later triggers it (exposure to certain chemicals like benzene, there are other possibilities, but it's just not known yet.) Some medical conditions make it more likely for someone to get leukemia, such as Down Syndrome.
ALL is a cancer of the white blood cells. The bone marrow pumps out immature lymphocytes, or blast cells, that are basically damaged. These are the leukemia cells. The bone marrow keeps producing these cells, which crowd out the good cells- the red blood cells, the platelets, and the good white blood cells.
Symptoms are vague and can be symptoms of many things. Because of the lack of red blood cells, anemia can result, and the person can be pale and fatigued and have headaches. When the platelets are low, bleeding can occur more easily, as well as bruising and petechiae. There may be some bone pain, and bones may be weaker and more likely to fracture. There may be fever, infections that don't easily go away, and lethargy. But again, the symptoms are pretty vague and represent many different things.
People usually find out after visiting the doctor and having blood work done. With ALL, the blasts can sometimes show up in a peripheral blood smear. If they don't or a smear isn't ordered, the blood counts may be off enough to make a doctor think further investigation is needed, and a smear may be ordered at that time, or a bone marrow aspiration. The BMA confirms it. With ALL, a spinal tap is done at the beginning, as well, to determine if there are leukemia cells in the central nervous system.
Chemotherapy is the first line of treatment. Children with cancer are assigned to protocols designed for their particular cancers and details. Chemo is given intravenously (through a PICC line, port-a-cath, or Broviac/Hickman, normally), orally (pills/liquids), intramuscularly (a shot in the leg, though the new ALL protocol has this medication being given IV), and intrathecally (into the spinal fluid during a spinal tap.) Treatment is long- it can be about 2- almost 4 years long. Girls are typically on the lower end of that; boys go a year longer.
Children are normally admitted for the first few days. The treatment is broken up into different stages, with some being more intense than others. Most chemo is given outpatient. Some children end up needing inpatient stays for a particular chemo medication, while others get different versions of it outpatient. When children get fevers, they're often admitted.
Chemotherapy gets rid of the cancer cells, but also hurts the good cells. So the white blood cells (infection fighters), red blood cells (bring oxygen around the body), and platelets (stop bleeding, form scabs) all decrease. Kids are more susceptible to infections, bleeding, etc. Whole blood and platelet transfusions may be given during treatment. Kids often have to stay out of school for the first few months to prevent infections and because they're feeling poorly, and they have to be careful to not go around people who are ill.
I hope this gives you some information, but it's difficult to write about something you're not intimately familiar with. You should check out the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society website (www.lls.org.) Kids Health is also a good starting point for basic information (www.kidshealth.org.) The American Cancer Society also has information (www.cancer.gov.)
Leukemia — Comprehensive overview covers symptoms, causes, risk factors, treatment of this blood-related cancer.
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