Leukemia symptoms

Leukemia is a cancer that affects your bone marrows and lymphatic system, specifically your blood-forming tissues. It happens when your bone marrow excessively produces white blood cells or don’t function correctly and eventually affect your lymph nodes, spleen, liver and central nervous system. Its exact causes are still unclear but evidence suggests that it is due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

Early symptoms are vague which also coincides with other cancerous and non-cancerous disorders. There are many types of this cancer but some general symptoms include:

• Fatigue and weakness
• Malaise (vague feeling of bodily discomfort)
• Abnormal bleeding and excessive bruising
• Reduced exercise tolerance and chronic bone or joint pain or tenderness
• Infection that leads to fever or chills
• Abdominal pain or "fullness"
• Enlarged spleen, lymph nodes, and liver. This may appear as belly “fullness”” or swelling.
• Loss of appetite or weight
• Shortness of breath when you're physically active
• Tiny red spots in your skin
• Excessive sweating

Leukemia can better be detected through blood testing wherein specific abnormalities may be seen such as:

• Anemia (low number of red blood cells)
• Leukopenia (low number of normal white blood cells)
• Neutropenia (or granulocytopenia where there are very few mature bacteria-destroying the WBC with granules)
• Thrombocytopenia (low blood-clotting platelets)
• Thrombocytosis (high platelets).

There are also symptoms that affect the central nervous system such as:

• Headaches
• Weakness
• Seizures
• Blurred vision
• Balance difficulties
• Vomiting

There are also types that exhibit distinct symptoms such as:

• Acute Myelogenous Leukemia or AML that will show swollen, painful bleeding gums and pigmented rash-like spots
• Chloromas or collection of tumorous cells spreading in skin and other organs
• Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia or ALL that make you experience shortness of breath, coughing and suffocation.
When you notice the above possible signs of leukemia, it is better to consult the doctor for early detection and cure.