| What is Leukemia? | ||
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Leukemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow. It begins in white blood cells or in the bone marrow and spreads to other parts of the body. Understanding blood In order to understand leukemia better, it is helpful to know a little bit about blood. Blood consists of several types of cells (white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets) carried in a fluid called plasma. Red Blood Cells Red blood cells carry oxygen away from the lungs to other parts in the body. They also carry away carbon dioxide, as well. Carbon dioxide is a waste product from cells. White Blood Cells White blood cells help prevent and fight off foreign bodies like infections, by destroying bacteria, viruses and germs. They also have the ability to fight cancer. Under normal circumstances, your white blood cells are potent infection fighters. These cells normally grow and divide in an ordinary, controlled way, as your body needs them. But leukemia disrupts this process. Platelets Under a microscope platelets resemble plates, thus the name “platelets”. Platelets aid in the prevention of bleeding caused by bruises and cuts. Platelets are tiny pieces that have broken off from bone marrow cells. Bone Marrow Inside our bones there is a spongy type of material called bone marrow. Bone marrow is a factory for all different types of blood cells (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets). All bone marrow cells are formed
from a stem cell. A stem cell is a cell in its early stage, that will
later become one of two different cells; lymphocytes, or myeloid stem
cells. In people with leukemia, the bone marrow produces a large number of abnormal white blood cells. They look different from normal blood cells and don’t function properly. Eventually, they block production of normal white blood cells, impairing the ability to fight off infection. Leukemia cells also crowd out other types of blood cells produced by bone marrow, including red blood cells, which carry oxygen to tissues throughout the body, and platelets, which help from blood clots that control bleeding. Like all cancers, leukemia starts from a single abnormal cell, in this case a white blood cell. Normally, the division of human cells occurs right through life without any complications. Where a person suffering from leukemia, where his/her cells start to divide out of control. For most of the cell types that form the human body, this will lead to a mass of abnormal cells. And when a cell starts dividing out of control, it becomes “cancerous”. What types of leukemia are there? There are several different
types of leukemia. The type of leukemia you have depends on the type of
white blood cell that is involved (lymphoid or myeloid) and whether it
is developing slowly (chronic) or rapidly (acute). Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
(ALL) - This is the type Damian has Each type of leukemia behaves differently and needs to be treated differently. It is critical to get prompt
diagnosis and proper treatment for chronic and acute leukemia. Who can develop this disease? Both children and adults can develop leukemia and at this time there is no real means of prevention for the disease. Treatments Chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often referred to as simply, “chemo”) is a major treatment for all cancers. Radiation may be used in some cases. Chemo refers to the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Once the drugs enter the bloodstream, they spread throughout the body. Chemotherapy for cancer involves the use of several drugs given over a long period of time. While chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells, they can also damage normal cells. This happens because they target rapidly growing cells such as cancer cells but in the process they also damage other fast growing cells. Antibiotics During and after treatment, antibiotics are given as an added protection. Surgery Surgery is not generally used to treat leukemia it is a disease of the blood and bone marrow and it is not possible cure it with surgery. But surgery may be used to help deliver treatment. Radiation Therapy Radiation therapy is the use of high energy x-rays to kill cancer cells. It might also be used to reduce pain when the leukemia has spread to a bone if chemo hasn’t helped. Bone Marrow or Peripheral Blood Cell Transplant Stem cells can come from either the patient or from a matched donor. There is a good reason to use stem cells from someone else for the transplant. These cells seem to help fight any remaining leukemia cells through an immune reaction. The Transplant Process The treatment works like this: Stem cells are collected from the bloodstream of the donor in a process called apheresis. The cells are frozen and stored. Patients are then given very high doses of chemotherapy to kill the cancer cells. They also receive total body radiation to kill any remaining cancer cells. After treatment, the stored stem cells are given to the patient as a blood transfusion. The stem cells settle into the patient’s bone marrow over the next several days and start to grow and make new blood cells. People who receive a donor’s stem cells are given drugs to prevent rejection as well as other medicines as needed to prevent infections. Usually within a couple of weeks after the stem cells are given, they start making new white blood cells. Then they begin making platelets, and finally red and white blood cells. About Stem Cell Transplant Stem cell transplantation is a complex treatment. If doctors think that a person with leukemia may be helped by this treatment, a donor needs to be found. Stem cell transplant is very
expensive (more than a million Rand) and involves a long hospital stay.
Many medical aid companies see it as an experimental treatment, and won’t
pay for it. In most cases a charity or trust is initiated to raise funds
for the person suffering from leukemia for the expensive treatment. |
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