How Is Leukemia Treated?

Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bonemarrow. There are two types of leukemia, chronic and acute,which are treated differently and have different symptoms. Acuteleukemia rapidly progresses and needs immediate, aggressivetreatment. Chronic leukemia can take months or years to showsymptoms and may not need immediate treatment but will requireongoing monitoring.Chemotherapy utilizes chemicals to treat the cancer. It causesmany side effects such as hair loss, nausea and decline of theimmune system. The complete course of therapy can be from two tofive years including maintenance. This is the most common formof treatment for leukemia with the desired result being totalremission. Even without symptoms, ongoing monitoring must occurto guard against relapse.Radiation therapy is another form of treatment. It is painlessand in low doses causes very few side effects. Where theradiation is concentrated and the exposure levels will determinethe side effects, if any, and the severity of them. Damage tothe skin, swelling and infertility are among the possible sideeffects. A bone marrow transplant is an effective way to prolong the lifeof cancer patients. It is, however, a risky surgery and requiresa donor which can be difficult in attaining. These surgeriesshould be performed at state of the art hospitals specializingin cancer treatment. This surgery has a high mortality rate andis therefore used only in life threatening cases.Immunotherapy is a means to stimulate the immune system so thebody can attack the cancer cells. This type of treatment isstill in its early stages and continually under development. Itis believed that this type of treatment may prove less harmfulthan chemotherapy or radiation therapy and may someday supplantthese treatments as a method for treating cancer. Long term effects of leukemia treatments may cause anemia. Thisside effect can be treated by blood transfusions or platelettransfusions. There are risks with transfusions but it isbelieved transfusions will help reduce the threat of additionalcomplications such as heart attacks. Doses of antibiotics arealso generally prescribed to leukemia patients to helpcounteract the danger of infection cause by declined immunesystem or treatment side effects.There are currently almost 200,000 people in the United Statesdiagnosed with leukemia and an estimated 35,000 new cases willbe diagnosed this year. It is the leading cause of death forpeople under the age of 20. There are many treatment facilitiesthroughout the United States specializing in cancer treatment.Early diagnosis, aggressive treatment, and monitoring will helpprolong life and increase chances of a person going intoremission.