Question

Disease: Leukemia

Is there more than one type of disease? If so, what are they?

What are the signs and symptoms of the disease?

What are the possible treatments for the disease?

What would you recommend to a patient who has been diagnosed with the disease?

Can anything be done to prevent the disease?

Answer 1

Leukemia is a neoplastic proliferation of white blood cell including bone marrow and lymphatic system (granulocytes, monocytes, lymphocytes, or megakaryocytes).

There are four main types of leukemia, they are

1. Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML)
2. Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML)
3. Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL)
4. Chronic Lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)

Other types. Other, rarer types including hairy cell leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes and myeloproliferative disorders.

Signs and Symptoms

• Fever or chills.
• Frequent or severe infections.
• Persistent fatigue, weakness.
• Weight loss.
• Swollen lymph nodes, enlarged liver or spleen.
• Recurrent nosebleeds.
• Easy bleeding or bruising.
• While auscultation of the patients lungs, may hear decreased breath sounds, shallow and rapid respirations, a rapid heart rate.
• Excessive sweating, especially at night.
• Bone pain or tenderness.
• Tiny red spots in your skin (petechiae).

Treatment

1. Chemotherapy : Chemotherapy is the major form of treatment for leukemia. This drug treatment uses to kill cancer cells through a pill form, or they may be injected directly into a vein.
2. Radiation therapy : Radiation therapy uses X-rays or other high-energy beams to damage leukemia cells and stop the growth of cancerous cells.
3. Biological therapy :  Aim the treatments that help your immune system recognize and attack leukemia cells.
4. Targeted therapy : In targeted therapy drugs or radiation that attack only specific vulnerabilities within your cancer cells which can help control the disease.
5. Stem cell transplant : A stem cell transplant is a procedure to replace your diseased bone marrow with healthy bone marrow.

Recommendation of the patient

• Closely watch signs and symptoms of Leukemia.
• Take precautions to prevent bleeding.
• Encourage to consume adequate nutrition to reduce the adverse effect of chemotherapy.
• Consume more fluid and fibre to avoid constipation.
• Proper follow up and monotoring the disease progression.

Prevention

There is no prevention of leukemia, but we can reduce the incidence of disease by eliminating some risk factors,like exposure to certain chemicals like benzene, pesticides, smoking, certain medications and viruses. Exercise, consuming healthy diet, maintain healthy weight also helps.