Leukemia not only affects adults, it also affects children and this is where it can be most deadly. According to the University of Texas Cancer Center, Leukemia affects more than 3,500 children every year. “Leukemia affects two types of white blood cells which are responsible for protecting the body from disease: lymphocytes and granulocytes. Leukemias that affect lymphocytes are known as “lymphocytic” or “lymphoblastic,” and those that affect granulocytes are called “myeloid” or “myelogenous” leukemias.”
Leukemia is classified as either acute or chronic. In acute leukemia, white blood cells are released from the bone marrow into the bloodstream before they mature, where they quickly reproduce. In chronic leukemias, the blood cells are a bit more mature and multiply much slower.
There are three types of leukemias found in children: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML), and Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia (JMML). ALL is the most common leukemia found in children; 75 percent of children with leukemia have ALL. ALL occurs during two very distinct age groups, children under three or young teenagers. AML affects both children and adults but about 20 percent of childhood leukemia is AML. JMML is a rare disease that affects children under the age of four.
There are a few symptoms that can help identify this disease. Some of these symptoms are: fatigue, flu-like symptoms, loss of appetite, anemia, and bone or joint pain. In terms of diagnosing childhood leukemia, there are a few tests that are done.
“Childhood leukemia is diagnosed by taking a sample of bone marrow from the hip with a needle. A spinal tap is also performed to determine whether leukemia has affected the central nervous system.”
For treatment of leukemia, the most common type of treatment is chemotherapy, which is using drugs to kill cancer cells. If a child doesn’t respond well to the chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant may need to be done. “Radiation therapy may be used when leukemia has affected the brain and central nervous system or is likely to spread to these areas. Beams of radiation are precisely aimed at the treatment area from outside the body.”
Although leukemia is the number one killing cancer in children, there are those who survive: please read Denzel’s Story.
There are other websites that provide a world of hope and information for anyone who is touched by childhood leukemia. NCLF, and JLS.
Childhood Leukemia [2009], retrieved on 15, October, 2009 from http://www.mdanderson.org/patient-and-cancer-information/cancer-information/cancer-types/childhood-leukemia/index.html?gclid=CNuLodylv50CFQRM5QodFQg8jw.
