General Information
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a type of cancer that originates within the bone marrow. It then spreads from the bone marrow to the flexible tissue found in the hollow interior of bones and to the white blood cells. ‘Chronic’ leukemia means that it develops slowly over a long period of time. ‘Lymphocytic’ leukemia refers to the type of cell, lymphocytes, that is affected by CLL. There are two types of CLL; one type grows slowly and does not require treatment whereas the second type progresses more rapidly and does require treatment. Similar to other types of cancer, CLL will eventually build up and spread to other parts of the body.
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a type of cancer that originates within the bone marrow. It then spreads from the bone marrow to the flexible tissue found in the hollow interior of bones and to the white blood cells. ‘Chronic’ leukemia means that it develops slowly over a long period of time. ‘Lymphocytic’ leukemia refers to the type of cell, lymphocytes, that is affected by CLL. There are two types of CLL; one type grows slowly and does not require treatment whereas the second type progresses more rapidly and does require treatment. Similar to other types of cancer, CLL will eventually build up and spread to other parts of the body.
Causes
How chronic lymphocytic leukemia forms is very mysterious. The Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences suggest one environmental cause of CLL is a herbicide chemical called Agent Orange used in the Vietnam War, so Vietnam veterans have a higher risk of obtaining this disease. One to five and a half people out of 100,000 have this disease in the world. If a person has family history or a relative who has CLL, their risk of inheriting the disease is increased (although the increase is very small). Scientists have found that males are more prone to CLL than women are for an unknown reason. Also, Caucasian people are more likely to have CLL than African Americans are. Doctors have observed that the average age of diagnosis is 64-70 years of age.
How chronic lymphocytic leukemia forms is very mysterious. The Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences suggest one environmental cause of CLL is a herbicide chemical called Agent Orange used in the Vietnam War, so Vietnam veterans have a higher risk of obtaining this disease. One to five and a half people out of 100,000 have this disease in the world. If a person has family history or a relative who has CLL, their risk of inheriting the disease is increased (although the increase is very small). Scientists have found that males are more prone to CLL than women are for an unknown reason. Also, Caucasian people are more likely to have CLL than African Americans are. Doctors have observed that the average age of diagnosis is 64-70 years of age.
Symptoms
People who have chronic lymphocytic leukemia usually do not realize they have this disease for a while. This is due to the fact that CLL grows relatively slowly and symptoms begin quietly. This is why people should be more aware of CLL. A patient with CLL could eventually experience weakness, weight loss, fever or night sweats, bruising and bleeding, and lumps under the skin (such as under the chin or neck). These symptoms are due to shortages of red blood cells, normal white blood cells, and blood platelets.
People who have chronic lymphocytic leukemia usually do not realize they have this disease for a while. This is due to the fact that CLL grows relatively slowly and symptoms begin quietly. This is why people should be more aware of CLL. A patient with CLL could eventually experience weakness, weight loss, fever or night sweats, bruising and bleeding, and lumps under the skin (such as under the chin or neck). These symptoms are due to shortages of red blood cells, normal white blood cells, and blood platelets.
Treatment
Possible treatments include monoclonal antibodies, radiation therapy, stem cell transplant, and the most popular option- chemotherapy. Chemotherapy uses toxic anticancer drugs received by the patient through the veins or orally. An enormous concern of chemo patients is that their hair will fall out within a few weeks of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy aims to attack the bad cells but will also affect the good cells resulting in hair loss.
Possible treatments include monoclonal antibodies, radiation therapy, stem cell transplant, and the most popular option- chemotherapy. Chemotherapy uses toxic anticancer drugs received by the patient through the veins or orally. An enormous concern of chemo patients is that their hair will fall out within a few weeks of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy aims to attack the bad cells but will also affect the good cells resulting in hair loss.