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.
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.
Chronic leukemia involves more-mature blood cells. These blood cells replicate or accumulate more slowly and can function normally for a period of time. Some forms of chronic leukemia initially produce no early symptoms and can go unnoticed or undiagnosed for years.
Often referred to as a “silent disease,” CLL can be difficult to diagnose, because people often don't have any symptoms until later in the disease, and others have symptoms that resemble signs of other conditions, such as a cold.
It may take months or even several years before the disease begins to cause symptoms that alert the patient that something is wrong.
Almost 65 out of 100 (almost 65 percent) will survive their leukemia for five years or more after diagnosis. For those who are 40 or older: Around 20 out of 100 (around 20 percent) will survive their leukemia for five years or more after diagnosis. Your age affects how well leukemia responds to treatment.
Acute leukemia may cause signs and symptoms that are similar to the flu. They come on suddenly within days or weeks. Chronic leukemia often causes only a few symptoms or none at all. Signs and symptoms usually develop gradually.
Chronic leukemia usually gets worse slowly, over months to years, while acute leukemia develops quickly and progresses over days to weeks. The two main types of leukemia can be further organized into groups that are based on the type of white blood cell that is affected — lymphoid or myeloid.
Causes of leukaemia
The cause of acute leukaemia is unknown, but factors that put some people at higher risk are: exposure to intense radiation. exposure to certain chemicals, such as benzene. viruses like the Human T-Cell leukaemia virus.
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.
Leukemia Misdiagnosis
Physicians often fail to diagnose chronic leukemia, as it often shows no symptoms until the disease has begun to progress. Many of the symptoms of leukemia may also be symptoms of other illnesses, which results in a high number of misdiagnoses.
Your doctor will conduct a complete blood count (CBC) to determine if you have leukemia. This test may reveal if you have leukemic cells. Abnormal levels of white blood cells and abnormally low red blood cell or platelet counts can also indicate leukemia.
If caught early, leukemia can be cured by undergoing several cancer treatments.
Stage 1 – A patient has high levels of white blood cells and enlarged lymph nodes. Stage 2 – A patient has high levels of white blood cells and is anemic. He or she may also have enlarged lymph nodes. Stage 3 – A patient has high levels of white blood cells and is anemic.
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.
Leukemia starts in the soft, inner part of the bones (bone marrow), but often moves quickly into the blood. It can then spread to other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, central nervous system and other organs.
When is a patient tested for leukemia? "A patient may be tested for leukemia if he or she has unexplained weight loss, night sweats or fatigue, or if he or she bruises or bleeds easily," Dr. Siddon says. "Sometimes routine blood work shows an unexplained elevated number of white blood cells."
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.
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.
Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is a type of cancer that affects the white blood cells and tends to progress slowly over many years. It can occur at any age, but is most common in older adults around 60-65 years of age.
Palliative (pronounced “pal-lee-uh-tiv”) care is specialized medical care for people facing serious illness. The palliative care team relieves the symptoms, pain and stress of a serious illness like leukemia or lymphoma. The goal is to improve quality of life for both you and your family.
Who gets leukemia? Although it is often thought of as a children's disease, most cases of leukemia occur in older adults. More than half of all leukemia cases occur in people over the age of 65.