All About Leukemia
Leukemia Can Be Cured
ABNORMAL Blood Cell
Leukemia in children due to abnormal blood cells increase in excess and uncontrollable. Because it is in the blood, spreading to all parts of the body cause interference or damage the body's function. Leukemia usually affects white blood cells.
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Leukemia can occur in one of the blood cells. The most in white blood cells. White blood cells that experience malignancy will multiply themselves uncontrollably. However, the cells that are formed are not normal and do not work. The cells urge the growth of normal white blood cells as well as red blood cells and blood clots. The decrease in the number of white blood cells makes the child susceptible to infection, low red blood cells cause pale children and weak, reduced blood chips make the child easily bleeding difficult to stop. In addition to the body surface, bleeding can occur in the gastrointestinal tract, brain, or other body organs, and cause death. Malignant cells can even spread to the liver, spleen, lymph nodes, brain, and bones.
Watch the SYMPTOMS
In order for the stage does not increase to high risk, recognize the general symptoms of leukemia. Beware if the child often appears lethargic and tired with pale, unexplained fever and often recurrent although not high between 37-38.5 degrees Celsius, abnormal bleeding such as nosebleeds, blue spots on the skin, and fussy because it feels pain in the bones and the stomach is hard or swollen. Sometimes a lump is found on the skin, swelling of the gums, decreased appetite, facial muscle paralysis or limbs for no apparent reason. In boys, symptoms also appear in the testes that have enlarged.
If there are symptoms or signs of this, immediately consult a doctor. A full examination, including laboratory tests, is needed to make the diagnosis in order for treatment to begin practically.
When in the family there is a history of cancer, especially leukemia, there is no harm in children to do early detection of cancer by checking blood for prevention.
5 Years OF DETERMINING
Progress of treatment, the chance to survive in children affected by leukemia the better. Currently, most people with leukemia in children, can be cured and free of disease without relapse. Generally, those that do not recur are those who fall into the standard risk category when diagnosed and treated promptly. Standard phase risk is seen from two things, namely when the number of white blood cells is still above 50 thousand and the extent of the spread has not been widespread such as not yet to the brain or other areas such as chest cavity that there is gland and other things that mark not yet entered at high-risk (high risk). In boys, also not to the testes area.The goal of treatment is to eliminate leukemia cells, allowing normal blood cells to grow and develop as they should be. Treatment is also to prolong life, as well as seek healing.
The first healing phase performed is the induction phase. In the weighing and lasting phase of about 6 to 7 weeks, a combination of chemotherapy with a drug that aims to eradicate all cancer cells. The problem is, chemotherapy not only eradicates cancer cells. Normal blood cells produced in bone marrow are also eradicated, so patients experience conditions that are very vulnerable to infection, bleeding, and general health. Thus, treatment usually also includes a rigorous monitoring of the side effects that arise.
After 6 weeks, a bone narrow puncture is performed to prove whether remission has occurred. After that proceed with giving drugs. After continuous treatment for 2 years, it is expected that this remission can be maintained, ie cancer cells are no longer in the body and clinical symptoms improve. However, after remission is achieved, more controls are required for 2-3 years, to prevent relapse. In the world of medicine, this is called 5 years of survival. The success of those who passed this period reached 70%. This figure is high if it occurs in developing countries because in developed countries, generally have reached 80%. If after 5 years the cancer cells do not appear again, then leukemia has been considered cured because after five years, rarely occur recurrence.
Cancer Cells Start from White Blood Cell Abnormalities
Leukemia disease found in the 19th century. Leukemia is one type of cancer that became a scourge for many people. Cancer is a group of diseases that are related to each other. All types of cancer start from cell abnormalities, then attack the blood and tissues. Normally, the cells will grow and separate into new cells when the body needs them. As the cell ages, it will die and new cells will take its place. Sometimes the sequence of this process goes astray. New cells grow and multiply when the body does not need them. The old cells do not die as they should.
Leukemia stems from this disorder, the white blood cell disorder. These abnormal white blood cells are then called cancer cells. At first, these cancer cells can still function almost near normal. However, over time the cancer cells grow so much that they are urgent and disrupt the function of other blood cells. At the beginning of his discovery, the appearance of white blood cell abnormalities (leukocytes) appeared homogeneous. However, with the development of medical technology in the field of pathology and cytology, white blood cell disorders begin to appear heterogeneous with a range of symptoms ranging from chronic to acute.
Common symptoms of Leukemia are:
1. Fever and night sweats
2. Frequent infections
3. Fatigue and weakness
4. Headache
5. Bleeding, eg bleeding gums, bluish bruises on the skin, and red spots under the skin.
6. Bone or joint pain
7. Weight loss drastically
8. Uncomfortable feeling in the chest due to enlargement of blood vessels
9. Swollen lymph glands, especially in the armpits and neck
Types of Leukemia
Leukemia is grouped according to how quickly the disease develops and develops. Therefore, there are two major groups of leukemia, namely:
1. Chronic leukemia, the cancer cells that appear long. Sometimes, people with chronic leukemia do not feel any symptoms. The condition of the patient worsened in a long time.
2. Acute leukemia, which is abnormal blood cell abnormalities. This cancer cell is almost unable to function normally. The number of cancer cells grows in large numbers very quickly. The condition of patients with acute leukemia rapidly deteriorate.
Leukemia types are also grouped by type of infected white blood cells. Leukemia can attack lymphoid cells or myeloid cells. Lymphoid cells produced lymph glands that serve to keep the body immune. Myeloid cells are a material produced by bone marrow. Leukemia that attacks lymphoid cells is called Lymphocytic Leukemia. Leukemia that attacks myeloid cells is called Myelogenous Leukemia. There are four types of leukemia based on the type of white blood cell that is attacked, namely:
1. Lymphocytic Leukemia chronic (Chronic Lymphoblastic Leukemia / CLL), the type of Leukemia that more often attacks older people over 55 years.
2. Myeloid Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), the type of Leukemia that attacks adults.3. Lymphocytic Acute leukemia (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia / ALL), a type of Leukemia commonly encountered in children sufferers. However, ALL also attacks adults.
4. Myeloid Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML), which is a type of Leukemia that attacks in children and adults.
In addition, there is one type of chronic leukemia is very rare, namely Hairy Cell Leukemia.
Risk factor
No one knows for sure the cause of Leukemia. However, studies show that people with certain risk factors have a greater chance of being infected with Leukemia. The risk factors are:
1. Very high radiation exposure. This risk factor occurred when the atomic bomb explosion in Nagasaki and Hiroshima (post World War II) and when the Chernobyl tragedy in 1986. Although only low risk, radiation health care such as X-ray or X-rays also increase the risk of Leukemia infection,
2. Working with dangerous chemicals, such as benzene and formaldehyde continuously.
3. Chemotherapy. Some ingredients used for chemotherapy can continuously trigger Leukemia several years later.
4. Down syndrome and some other genetic disorders can trigger leukemia due to chromosomal abnormalities.
5. Viral Infections Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus-I (HTLV-I). This virus causes the emergence of one type of rare Leukemia, namely Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia or T-Cell Leukemia. However, this virus is not contagious to human fellow.
6. Myelodiplastic Syndrome, a disease of blood disorders, can trigger Myeloid Leukemia acute on the sufferer.
Previous research considers electromagnetic fields as one of the risk factors for cancer initiators. Electromagnetic field is one form of mild radiation found around cable towers, communication devices, or electronic devices. However, the evidence suggests that electromagnetic fields are less dominant in triggering leukemia.
Treatment and HealingPatients with leukemia generally shocked after knowing he had cancer. Therefore, with regard to care and healing, the patient needs to be accompanied by relatives or friends when consulting a doctor. Both the patient and his / her companion are expected to actively inquire about the possible alternative treatment and treatment that can be undertaken. Making notes on a list of questions and important points of doctor's explanation is very good to apply.
If possible, the patient should be treated at a cancer care center. If such access is difficult, the patient is expected to make a care and treatment plan with an experienced specialist. Do not forget, the patient is expected to find a second opinion to seek a better chance of healing.
Treatment and treatment Leukemia is differentiated according to the type and level of leukemia suffered. Patients with acute leukemia should immediately get treatment and treatment to remove cancer cells. If successful, care and treatment must be run some time to prevent cancer cells reappear. Patients with chronic leukemia can delay treatment until symptoms, but with still undergoing treatment. Patients like this are in alert status while waiting for symptoms start to look severe. Chronic leukemia can often be cured.
Common therapies given to people with Leukemia are:
1. Chemotherapy
Can be given by mouth, a catheter is placed between the chest and the neck, intravenous injection, or even direct injection into the cerebrospinal fluid (fluid outside the main blood vessels of the brain). This is done if intravenous injection can not reach the cerebrospinal fluid as it is blocked by the blood vessel wall of the brain. Patients undergo chemotherapy in certain cycles, for example in the healing period and recovery period. Chemotherapy can be done with hospitalization or outpatient at home.
2. Radiation
This therapy uses high-energy rays to kill cancer cells. Radiation can be done by the machine directly on the organ being attacked, for example in blood vessels, brain, or throughout the body.
3. Stem cell transplantation
This method is pursued by high-dose treatment and radiation aimed at killing cancer cells and normal cells produced in the bone marrow. After all stem cells disappear, the bone marrow is transplanted through a tube in the veins of blood vessels that penetrate into the spine in the neck or chest of the sufferer.
Treatment and treatment of cancer often cause specific side effects according to the type of therapy and the severity of cancer suffered. Generally, cancer treatments are always cause side effects due to many tissues that die because of treatment. In addition, cancer patients also need treatment to overcome the pain caused by treatment as well as emotional consultation during treatment. This treatment is called palliative care and support care.
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