Acute leukemia symptoms can often appear suddenly With acute leukemia, symptoms tend to develop very quickly. You may suddenly spike a fever that won't go away, develop an infection for no apparent reason, or start bleeding spontaneously from your nose or gums and not be able to stop it.
Many people don't have any symptoms for at least a few years. In time, the cells can spread to other parts of the body, including the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen.
Chronic leukemia may go undetected
If a patient doesn't see a doctor for several years, the disease can go undetected over a long period of time, and the abnormal cells can build up and cause an enlarged spleen.
Some signs of leukemia, like night sweats, fever, fatigue and achiness, resemble flu-like symptoms. Unlike symptoms of the flu, which generally subside as patients get better, leukemia symptoms generally last longer than two weeks, and may include sudden weight loss, bone and joint pain and easy bleeding or bruising.
Leukemia is commonly misdiagnosed as the following conditions: Influenza. Fever. Pathological fracture.
Leukemia can produce a variety of symptoms, although most are not often apparent in the earliest stages of the malignancy. The most common symptoms of leukemia—fatigue, pale skin, weight loss and night sweats—are often attributed to other less serious conditions, such as the flu.
These leukaemia cells behave differently from healthy blood cells. Symptoms can depend on how quickly a leukaemia develops. Slower growing leukaemias such as chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) may cause no symptoms in the early stages.
6. Is leukemia curable if caught early? If caught early, leukemia can be cured by undergoing several cancer treatments.
The median age of a patient diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is 65 years and older. However, most cases of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) occur in people under 20 years old. The median age of an ALL patient at diagnosis is 15.
These leukaemia cells behave differently from healthy blood cells. Symptoms can depend on how quickly a leukaemia develops. Slower growing leukaemias such as chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) may cause no symptoms in the early stages.
If acute leukemia is left untreated, a person with leukemia becomes increasingly susceptible to fatigue, excessive bleeding and infections until, finally, the body becomes virtually defenseless, making every minor injury or infection very serious. Leukemia may be fatal.
In 50–75% of newly diagnosed CLL cases, a person will have no symptoms. It can take several years from a diagnosis before a person experiences symptoms of this type of cancer. Once symptoms start to appear, an individual or doctor may mistake them for symptoms of other conditions.
Leukemia is commonly misdiagnosed as the following conditions: Influenza. Fever. Pathological fracture.
Chronic leukemia often causes only a few symptoms or none at all. Signs and symptoms usually develop gradually. People with a chronic leukemia often complain that they just do not feel well. The disease is often found during a routine blood test.
Age: The risk of most leukemias increases with age. The median age of a patient diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is 65 years and older. However, most cases of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) occur in people under 20 years old.
How is leukemia diagnosed? A diagnosis of leukemia is usually made by analyzing a patient's blood sample through a complete blood count (CBC) or microscopic evaluation of the blood, or by using flow cytometry.
6. Is leukemia curable if caught early? If caught early, leukemia can be cured by undergoing several cancer treatments.
During the progression of leukemia, white blood cells (neoplastic leukocytes) found in bone marrow may begin to filter into the layers of the skin, resulting in skin lesions. “It looks like red-brown to purple firm bumps or nodules and represents the leukemia cells depositing in the skin,” Forrestel says.
Common signs and symptoms of leukemia include: Fatigue, tiring easily. Fever or night sweats. Frequent infections.
CLL is difficult to diagnose, because the symptoms only manifest in the later stages of the disease. As in all types of care, a late diagnosis often means worse prognosis.
People in stages 0 to II may live for 5 to 20 years without treatment. CLL has a very high incidence rate in people older than 60 years. CLL affects men more than women. If the disease has affected the B cells, the person's life expectancy can range from 10 to 20 years.