Leukemia: Know the Symptoms, Causes, Prevention, and Treatment Before It's Too Late

Leukemia is a kind of cancer that can affect both children and adults. According to Globocan, in 2020, there were more than 470,000 new cases of leukemia and more than 311,000 fatalities caused by leukemia worldwide, with the most cases found in Asian countries. In Indonesia, according to data from the WHO in 2020, there were 11,979 deaths caused by leukemia, which is the cancer with the sixth highest death case.

Unfortunately, the symptoms of leukemia are often ignored because they are considered the same as other diseases. Symptoms of leukemia usually appear after cancer cells develop and attack the cells of the body. Before it's too late, let's detect blood cancer as early as possible with MAGI!

What Is Leukemia?

According to P2PTM of the Indonesian Ministry of Health, leukemia, or "blood cancer," is a malignant disease of blood cells originating from the bone marrow. Usually characterized by excessive proliferation of white blood cells in the form of abnormal cells in the peripheral blood (blast cells), which causes the urgency of normal blood cells, resulting in impaired function.

Types of Leukemia

There are two types of leukemia when viewed from the severity, namely acute leukemia and chronic leukemia.

1. Acute Leukemia

Quoted from the Mitra Keluarga Hospital page, acute leukemia is characterized by a very rapid, deadly, and worsening course of the disease. If not treated immediately, it can lead to death in just a matter of weeks or even days. There are two sub-types of acute leukemia, namely:

• Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) occurs when the bone marrow produces too many lymphoblasts (immature lymphocyte-type white blood cells).
• Affects 75% of pediatric patients aged 3-4 years, as well as adults over the age of 65 years.
• Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) occurs when the bone marrow produces myeloblasts or overripe myeloid cells. affects 80% of adult patients over 40 years of age.

2. Chronic Leukemia

Chronic leukemia has an untimely course. Thus, patients who have it have a longer life expectancy. There are two sub-types of chronic leukemia based on the cell type, including:

• Chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML) occurs when the bone marrow cannot produce mature myeloid cells. This type of leukemia generally affects middle-aged patients and can also affect children, but there are very few cases.
• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), which occurs when the bone marrow begins to produce abnormal lymphocytes excessively and slowly causes cancer, this blood cancer affects many female patients who are 55 years old and older.

Symptoms of Leukemia

At first, leukemia often does not cause signs. New symptoms appear when cancer cells have developed and begin to attack body cells. The symptoms that appear also vary, depending on the type of leukemia suffered. The following are some of the symptoms of leukemia based on the stage that you can look at.

1. Symptoms of early-stage leukemia

The risk of disease in the early stages is usually low because the disease has not spread or affected other organs. But we still must be aware of the symptoms of early-stage blood cancer. As quoted from the National Foundation for Cancer Research, the following are the symptoms to watch out for:

• Frequent fever or a body temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or higher
• The cold causes the body to shiver easily
• Constant fatigue, even though you are not doing a lot of activities
• Bones or joints often hurt
• Weight loss, even though you are not on a diet or intense exercise
• Swollen lymph nodes, liver, or spleen
• Blood loss manifested as weakness, headache, or pallor
• Small red spots on the skin (petechiae)
• Easy bleeding or bruising

2. Symptoms of end-stage leukemia

When leukemia has reached its final, or chronic, stage, it is a sign that it is already very difficult to cure. Patients in late stages can usually be treated to avoid complications from other diseases. In patients who are in the fourth stage, it is characterized by the spread of cancer cells to other organs (one of which is the lungs), acute anemia, and a very rapid decrease in platelets.

Causes of Leukemia

It is not yet known exactly why a person can get blood cancer or leukemia or why the spinal cord can produce leukocytes excessively. Meanwhile, as reported on the Alodokter page, there are several risk factors that can cause leukemia, namely:

• Genetics

Having a family history of leukemia raises the risk for the offspring. In addition, people with Down syndrome or other rare health disorders are also at high risk of developing blood cancer.

• Unhealthy Lifestyle

People who have a habit of smoking can increase their risk of myelogenous leukemia; you know. In addition, some foods that contain carcinogens, such as processed meats (sausages, smoked beefs, nuggets, etc.) and foods processed by burning, can also cause various types of cancer.

• Exposure to Radiation and Excess Chemicals

Toxic chemicals such as benzene that are often found in fuel oil in the chemical industry are at risk of giving rise to cancer cells in the bone marrow.

Leukemia in Children

Cancer in children is classified as occurring before the age of 18 years. Children are more vulnerable to cancer, which can be fatal and lead to death. Lifestyle and eating healthy foods must be taught since childhood to avoid various types of cancer that arise in adulthood.

President Director of Dharmais Cancer Hospital, dr. Abdul Kadir, revealed that parents should recognize six types of cancer that are prone to attacking children. One of them is leukemia, or blood cancer. Head of Children's Installation at Dharmais Cancer Hospital, dr. Haridini Intan, said leukemia is the number one cancer case and all children can get this type of cancer. Even in every hospital that has cancer treatment facilities there are about 70% of children with leukemia cancer.

Symptoms that are usually experienced are paleness, weakness, decreased appetite, fever, enlarged liver, spleen, and glands, convulsions, bleeding, bone pain, and enlargement of the testicles with a hard consistency.

Is Leukemia Curable?

Leukemia can be cured depending on the treatment, type of leukemia, stage of cancer, and the patient's therapeutic response. The sooner the patient gets therapy, the more likely it is that cancer cells will not spread widely. The oncology hematologist will determine the method of treatment according to the type of leukemia that the patient has. Reporting from the Mitra Keluarga page, in general, there are leukemia treatment options, including:

• Supportive treatment, which consists of blood transfusions, antibiotics, antifungals, and antipyretics
• Chemotherapy: Cytostatics
• Radiation therapy
• Bone Marrow Transplantation
• Monoclonal antibodies are the latest type of treatment for Leukemia
• Stem cell transplantation (autologous and allogenic)
• Surgery

Leukemia Prevention

Although there is no effective way to prevent leukemia, you can do your best to reduce the risk, such as:

• Start exercising
• Consumption of healthy foods
• Quit smoking
• Use personal protective equipment when in a chemical environment
• Routine medical check-up

After understanding deeply about leukemia, it's a good idea for you to get a medical check-up once a year. so that leukemia can be detected and treated early, before it's too late. To be more comfortable and safer, protect your health and that of your family with SmartCare Executive¹, Health Insurance from MAGI. Providing ease of access to health care in all partner clinics and hospitals in Indonesia through the using an electronic health card.

¹The guarantee of benefits on SmartCare Executive products will refer to the applicable policy provisions

Source: p2ptm.kemkes.go.id ; mitrakeluarga.com ; kesehatan.kontan.co.id ; alodokter.com ; kemkes.go.id ; gco.iarc.fr ; health.kompas.com ; mayoclinic.org