What are the signs and symptoms of leukemia?
Sep 03, 2010 in
Other Cancer
I have to do a ppt on Leukemia for a 6 weeks project, and i’m having a hard time finding information. What are the initial signs of leukemia?
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3 comments
Rae on September 3, 2010 at 2:03 pm
My baby had a rare leukemia 13 years ago. He sweat terribly at night-his pillow was wet every morning. He had a swollen belly because his liver and spleen were enlarged. He had a big double chin from swollen lymph nodes in his neck. He had a couple ear infections and burst ear drum. He was very pale. He slept a lot. We just thought he was a chubby happy baby. Then he got a respiratory illness and his white blood count was hugely abnormally high when he was tested at the hospital. He started having bruises on his stomach that looked like someone had poked their finger on his tummy over and over. These were all signs.
kearneyconsulting on September 3, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Please see: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/leukemiachildhood.html
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001299.htm
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9339/10256.html
http://www.nci.nih.gov/cancer_information/cancer_type/leukemia
These are all good starting places.
Good luck.
rockdjchick on September 3, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Well, the symptoms are varied from patient to patient. I can only tell you mine.
First off, Leukemia is a form of blood cancer. I have non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which is another form of blood cancer. They are very similar.
When I first noticed something was wrong, I thought I pulled a muscle in my right side. I was working as a waitress and thought I lifted too heavy of a stack of dishes or reached too far wiping a table, causing a hernia. The pain would come and go with no warning. I vomited often without being nauseous. I once puked on my cat. Sometimes my husband would come home from work and find me in the fetal position because I was in so much pain. Other days, I would be fine.
They found a mass the size of a lemon attached to my small intestine and my colon. After removing parts of both of them as well as taking out my appendix, one ovary, and all of the lymph nodes in the area, they did a biopsy on my removed ovary to find out it was cancer.
The one key to knowing if it’s blood cancer is white blood cell counts. Blood work can show so many things. Blood cancer is pretty much a case of the infected blood cells attacking the healthy white blood cells, the healthy red blood cells, and the platelets. Your body is fighting itself.
Basically, to best answer your question is fatigue, vomiting, possibly pain in one area or another, migraines, and more fatigue….it’s like you can’t even pull yourself out of bed in the morning physically. You could be wide awake, but not even have the strength to lift your body even to a sitting position.
If you need more research, please contact the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I volunteer for them on occasions as a speaker and I also work part time in their School and Youth program. Their toll free number is 1-800-568-1372. Ask for Victor or Jackie in Patient Services. Obviously, the office is closed right now for the holidays, but trust me…these people know and can provide you with answers to your questions.
Good luck with your project. Hope I helped.