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Leukemia 101 what you need to know aboutby: Mansi gupta Cancer in any form is a deadly disease. But when it affects the most vital components of the body then their fatality increases manifold. One such type of cancer is cancer of the blood, technically known as leukemia. Blood is the most important tissue of the body. It is the connective tissue which carries and supplies oxygen and other vital elements to the remotest parts of the body. The importance of blood can be understood by the fact that it is the most important of all the connective tissues which provide the nutrients and other vital elements to the body. The most dangerous feature of leukemia is that it is related to the blood which has access to almost all body organs including the all important brain and heart. The incidence of cancerous cells being carried to the different parts of the body increases drastically due to this fact. Another striking aspect of the blood cancer is that it affects the leukocytes or the “white blood corpuscles” of the blood. These are the ones that protect the body from external infections. Thus the immunity of the body is seen to decrease drastically due to leukemia. The main effect of the disease is that the body starts producing infected and abnormal cells that hinder the function of blood i.e. carrying of oxygen. A patient suffering from leukemia is seen to loose weight due to anemia. This happens because the cancerous cells are unable to carry the hemoglobin properly which is the chief source of iron to the body. And due to that the body looses all vitality. The situation of the patient becomes vulnerable because the brain also starts to dysfunction due to infected blood. Headache, night sweats etc. can be commonly seen to occur as an attachment to this deadly disease. The people living in areas prone to radioactive waste disposal and activity are most common targets of leukemia. Overexposure to radioactivity causes the cells to mutate and function abnormally. The children who are diagnosed with Down syndrome have a high probability to develop leukemia. Over exposure to Benzene, the industrially important hydrocarbon is also a known cause of blood cancer. The abnormal cells are easily detected under the microscope. Thus the doctor suspicious of such a disease advises the patient for a bone marrow examination. The onset can be detected by the swollen lymph nodes of the body which are commonly found in armpits, around the neck and at the thigh. Chemotherapy is the most effective but a very painful way of killing the cancerous cells. The patient is subjected to drugs orally. The patient undergoes tremendous pressure as he is injected with lot many chemicals at a time. Another treatment is through the radiation. It is also very treacherous way of getting treated. The patients are seen to loose hair and texture of skin. Leukemia though very dangerous is still curable and the research in the field is also being done on an extensive basis. Proper treatment at the right time can prevent the reflux of this disease. Methods like bone marrow transplant, which may be required at a later stage, are also effective in treating the patient. Above all to over come with the disease a person needs to be loved and supported by all. Leukemia is fatal disease but life is mightier then it. Latest Cancer News:Taking Aim at Brain Cancer (Forbes) Smarter matching of drugs to patients is likely to improve on the lukewarm results seen so far with targeted cancer therapies. Hot dogs cast as villain in cancer group's ad (USA Today) A new TV commercial shows kids eating hot dogs in a school cafeteria and one little boy's haunting lament: "I was dumbfounded when the doctor told me I have late-stage colon cancer." Stress may raise breast cancer risk in young women (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Young women who experience more than one stressful life event are at greater risk of developing breast cancer, but a general feeling of happiness and optimism may help guard against the disease, Israeli researchers report. Normal Cells May Predict Cancer Virulence (HealthDay via Yahoo! News) THURSDAY, Aug. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Characteristics of normal cells which are present long before any tumor appears may determine how virulent a particular cancer is going to be, new research suggests. Cervical cancer advances give hope to poor (Reuters via Yahoo! News) New screening tests and effective vaccines from Merck & Co and GlaxoSmithKline make tackling cervical cancer in poor countries a real possibility for the first time, researchers said on Thursday. Correction: Hot Dogs-Cancer story (AP via Yahoo! News) In an Aug. 26 story about a new TV ad linking hot dogs with cancer, The Associated Press, relying on figures provided by a nutrition adviser to the American Institute for Cancer Research, erroneously reported average risks for colon cancer and how eating hot dogs affects those risks. Karen Collins said she misstated the average adult's lifetime risk for getting colorectal cancer, which is about ... Cancer spread 'happens earlier' (BBC News) Apparently "normal" cells may carry cancer to new sites long before a tumour develops, scientists say. Cervical Cancer Rate May Fall in Poor Nations With Tests, Shots (Bloomberg.com) Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- New screening methods and immunization shots are making it possible to control the number of cervical cancer cases in developing countries for the first time, researchers said in a Vaccine medical journal report. E! Standing Up To Cancer Too (Broadcasting and Cable) Entertainment network joins ABC, CBS and NBC in broadcasting 'Stand Up To Cancer' special. Mun2, E! Step Up to ?Stand Up to Cancer? (TV Week) Mun2 and E! Entertainment Television are joining other networks in airing the charity special ?Stand Up to Cancer? on Sept. 5 at 8 p.m. ? Stand Up to Cancer ,? put together by the Entertainment Industry Foundation, will air live simultaneously on ABC, CBS and NBC and will feature appearances by several celebrities and performers in an effort to raise funds for cancer research. Correction: Hot Dogs-Cancer story - The Associated Press
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