Leukemia is a cancer in which abnormal white blood cells are produced in the bone marrow. These abnormal cells, called leukemia cells are cancerous. In other words, they grow out of control. Eventually they spill out of the bone marrow into the peripheral blood. The leukemia cells are not able to function as immune cells like other white blood cells, and their population keeps growing. Eventually they crowd out normal blood cells, including normal white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. There are so many leukemia cells that the normal blood cells cannot do their jobs of preventing infections, carrying oxygen, and causing the blood to clot. A child who has leukemia is infection-prone, looks pale, and bruises easily.
Symptoms
Symptoms of leukemia may include:- lethargy, weakness, paleness, dizziness
- back, leg, and joint pain, headache, trouble standing or walking
- easy bruising, unusual bleeding, frequent nose bleeds, bleeding gums, petechiae (red pinpoints on the skin)
- repeated, frequent infections
- fever that lasts for several days, with or without an infection
- loss of appetite, weight loss
- swollen lymph nodes, bloated or tender stomach, swollen liver or spleen
- night sweats
- irritability
- painless lumps in the neck, underarm, stomach, groin, around the eyes, or other parts of the body
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