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Leukaemia cancers affects the production of white blood cells in the bone marrow causing them to be reproduced in a irregular way. An inbalance of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets occurs due to the high number of white cells.
There are two main leukaemia groups, chronic leukaemia and acute leukaemia. Generally the causes are unknown although chronic leukaemia can be linked to genetic history.
The symptoms of acute leukaemia are easy bruising, gum bleeding and tiredness due to anemia. Acute leukaemia typically occurs in children. The symptoms chronic leukaemia in addition to the one's for acute include enlarged lymph nodes and night sweats. They tend to be much slower in their progress. Chronic leukaemia typically occur in older people.
Blood tests and bone marrow samples are taken to diagnose the disease and to confirm the type of leukaemia. Acute leukaemia depending on severity can be treated using a course of drugs, radiotherapy and chemotherapy with the aim of destroying cancerous cells within the bone marrow and then allowing healthy cells to re-grow. The survival rate is about 90%. Chronic leukaemia is more difficult to treat and the success rate of treatment is less. It can be treated with chemotherapy or by bone marrow transplantation. It usually is detected by a blood test for some other reason as the disease is sometimes not apparent.
For more information and detail descriptions of all the forms of leukaemia then visit the diseases section of the Leukaemia Research Fund web site.