All Blood Tests

My wife was suffering from Acute Leukemia. She died on 23rd Jan 2008. Her disease was diagnosed very late when she was in the 3rd stage. When I came to know about the fact, I did intense search on the internet and gained knowledge about the Leukemia. Had I known those facts earlier, her life could have been saved. I’ve accumulated some information and I am uploading it on blog so that it can help some one.What is leukemia? In simple words it is, “Too many white blood cells in the body”. Blood contains three kinds of cells

RBC – Red Blood Cells (Carry Oxygen)

WBC – White Blood Cells (Also called leukocytes, they’re part of body’s immune system. These cells have a few subcategories and they’ve roles to fight with the invaders like bacteria, viruses and foreign proteins.

Platelets – Assists in blood clotting.

These cells are produced inside bone marrow that presents inside the bone cavities. Leukemia affected bone marrow produces big number of abnormal white blood cells making patient extremelyfragile to infection. Leukemia can be acute or chronic. Acute Leukemia is most dangerous.

Examples of Acute Leukemia are.

o  Acute myelocytic leukaemia (AML)

o  Acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL)

Examples of Chronic Leukemia are.

o  Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL)

o  Chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML)

It is possible to have chronic leukaemia for months or even years without knowing it.

What are the symptoms?

o  Tiredness due to Anemia.

o  Paleness of the face.

o  Bruising easily even without falling. A purple/dark red spot around bruise indicates less platelet count.

o  Repeated Infections.

o  Weight Loss.

o  Loss of appetite.

o  Fever.

o  Sweats.

o  Enlarged Lymph Glands.

o  Fever.

o  Enlarged spleen cause immense pain in the stomach.

o  Bleeding from Gum, Nose and Ears due to lack of platelets in the blood stream.

What cause Leukaemia?

The causes aren’t very obviously known some reasons are…

o  Genetic Effects.

o  Exposure to retroviruses.

How it’s diagnosed?

A lot of times it is diagnosed by chance when blood test is performed for other reasons. Doctors can diagnose based on the blood reports but bone marrow test is used to confirm the diagnosis. Special test such as chromosome study is performed to classify the Leukaemia.

What’s the treatment?

It usually involves intensive chemotherapy. Drugs are given as injection into veins. Other chemotherapy drugs such as fludarabine (Fludara) may be used in late stage disease. In bone marrow failure steroid treatment is given to recover the bone marrow. Chemotherapy drugs are very strong and have some side effects like fatigue, loss of hair and loss of appetite. It also kills the healthy bone marrow thus making patient weaker. These drugs can not distinguish between healthy and ill cells. Milder cases can be cured by regular blood transfusion. X-ray therapy (Radiation) given to infected lymph or to whole body depends on the level of the disease. In some cases bone marrow transplant can be done but this is very expensive treatment and out of the reach of a poor common man. Patient need a matching bone marrow donor as body easily rejects foreign bone marrow. Fifty to sixty percent patients live normal life after bone marrow transplant. Since this disease can occur any time again so regular monitoring is required.