Bone marrow performs blood-forming functions in the human body. In the case when cells are mutated for some reason, they acquire the properties of cancers and the process of their active division begins. Over time, pathological cells displace healthy blood inclusions, and cancer develops. Despite the severity of the disease, it is successfully treatable, especially in childhood. The main problem is that it is difficult to diagnose leukemia in a timely manner - symptoms and symptoms do not manifest themselves for a long time. Therefore, often the disease is detected at the final stage and leads to a fatal outcome.
What is blood leukemia - symptoms and characteristics
In fact, the ailment in question is a combination of a large group of diseases. Due to the fact that leukemia is not a specific neoplasm, but a huge number of mutated cells (clones), it spreads rapidly in the body and affects any internal organs. Therefore, the symptoms of the disease are usually unobtrusive and very versatile:
- migraine;
- violations of the functions of the joints;
- pale skin;
- frequent infectious diseases;
- bleeding;
- fatigue , fatigue.
In addition, blood cancer is acute and chronic with additional classification into subgroups according to the type of altered cells. Depending on the form of leukemia, its signs are also different.
Acute leukemia - symptoms
This type of disease develops as a result of the mutation of blasts - still immature blood cells in the bone marrow.
Characteristic features:
- pain in the bones;
- flu symptoms, including fever;
- bleeding;
- formation of bruises and bruises;
- spots on skin integuments purple or red;
- weakness, exhaustion;
- enlargement of lymph nodes .
If there is lymphoblastic or myeloid leukemia - the symptoms are supplemented by an increase in the spleen, liver. This subtype of acute leukemia occurs more often in children under 6 years, predominantly male.
Chronic leukemia - symptoms
The described form of blood cancer is accompanied by changes in cells either in the process of maturation, or already fully formed. The chronic type of disease is characterized by an increase in the concentration of leukocytes in the bone marrow and blood. This type of leukemia is very slow, up to 20 years, so they suffer, for the most part, the elderly.
For a long period of time chronic leukemia is not manifested in any way, occasionally there may be a feeling of weakness and a slight increase in lymph nodes on the neck. Such signs are rarely noticed, so the disease progresses.
The final stages of leukemia are manifested in the form of anemia, constant elevated body temperature, severe weakness, sweating. There may be a feeling of heaviness in the area of the liver (right side), a sharp decrease in weight and loss of appetite.
It is worth noting that monocytic leukemia does not exhibit the symptoms inherent in the pathology in question. The only sign of this subtype of the disease is anemia, which is diagnosed through the examination of blood, sometimes accidentally during a planned medical examination.
One of the most rare variants of the chronic form of blood cancer is hairy cell leukemia - the symptoms develop very slowly, therefore the described ailment
It is important to remember that acute leukemia never flows into a chronic form, and the latter does not have periods of exacerbation. Therefore, relapse of leukemia is impossible, and the symptoms, which eventually increase, are a signal about the progression of the disease and replacement of the majority of healthy cells with mutated clones.