Leukemia, blood cancer or anemia is a whole group of diseases. Clinical manifestations depend on the form that leukemia has taken - the symptoms vary according to the type of leukocytes affected by the disease. In addition, the signs of pathology are characterized by a process that is acute or chronic, as well as the duration of the course of the cancer.
The first signs of leukemia
As a rule, the initial stage of the disease is almost asymptomatic, especially if there is a chronic form.
A feature of the described disease is that there is no tumor in the body, as such. The development of cancer begins with a single cell of the bone marrow, which, by multiplying, gradually displaces the normal components of the blood pathological. The division can not be controlled, therefore it is difficult to track the progression of the disease, it can last for several months, as well as 2-3 weeks.
Early signs of leukemia in women:
- lethargy;
- malaise;
- weakness in the extremities, especially at the end of the day;
- drowsiness;
- in the morning - irritability.
As can be seen, the first symptoms of leukemia are similar to normal overwork, so blood cancer is rarely diagnosed in the early stages.
The fastest progression is the acute form of pathology, during which healthy cells are rapidly replaced by mutated or immature tumor formations.
Symptoms of acute leukemia
The main signs of the disease:
- susceptibility to infections (pneumonia, herpes, bronchitis);
- pain in the joints;
- increased lymph nodes, especially the cervical or in the cavities under the armpits;
- increased body temperature;
- enlargement of the spleen , liver, accompanied by a sense of heaviness in the right or left hypochondrium;
- increased sweating at night;
- bleeding gums;
- the appearance of bruises under the skin, red small dots;
- bleeding from the nose.
There may also be clinical manifestations associated with the accumulation of cancer cells in certain organs:
- dyspnea;
- blurred vision;
- confused consciousness;
- cramps in the limbs;
- headache;
- deterioration of coordination of movements;
- vomiting and nausea;
- puffiness in the groin area, upper extremities, often accompanied by painful palpation.
Symptoms of chronic leukemia
There are 2 varieties of this form of the disease - lymphocytic and myelocytic leukemia. They are characterized by such signs:
- decline in efficiency until its complete absence;
- a spleen infarction, accompanied by acute pain in the left hypochondrium;
- violation of orientation and coordination in space;
- migraines ;
- severe weight loss;
- decrease in the effectiveness of the immune system, as a result of which the patient often becomes infected with infections (shingles, cystitis, pneumonia, pyelonephritis);
- icterus of the skin.
It is important to note that the classification of leukemia for acute and chronic form is relatively. None of them passes into another, the division is based on the progression of the disease, the rate of development of the symptomatology.
Symptoms of leukemia for blood tests
Diagnosis of pathology is possible, mainly due to laboratory studies of biological fluid on the quantitative and qualitative content of blood cells.
Thus, in acute and chronic lymphoblastic leukemia, there is a decrease in the number of lymphocytes, as well as a violation of their maturation. In the case of the melocytic type of cancer, the characteristics of the bone marrow cells that replace the platelets, erythrocytes and leukocytes change.
Also during the analysis, the coagulability, density and viscosity of the blood, its density are examined.