Earliest signs of leukemia Often, the initial symptoms closely resemble those of the flu, but unlike flu symptoms, they then do not go away. Examples of common early leukemia symptoms include: loss of appetite. bone pain.
The signs or symptoms of leukemia may vary depending on whether you have an acute or chronic type of leukemia. Acute leukemia may cause signs and symptoms that are similar to the flu. They come on suddenly within days or weeks. Chronic leukemia often causes only a few symptoms or none at all.
Leukemia symptoms vary, depending on the type of leukemia. Common leukemia signs and symptoms include: Fever or chills. Persistent fatigue, weakness.
Some symptoms, like night sweats, fever, fatigue and achiness, resemble flu-like symptoms. Unlike symptoms of the flu, which generally subside as you get better, leukemia symptoms generally last longer than two weeks, and may include sudden weight loss, bone and joint pain and easy bleeding or bruising.
Leukemia can produce a variety of symptoms, although most are not often apparent in the earliest stages of the malignancy. The most common symptoms of leukemia—fatigue, pale skin, weight loss and night sweats—are often attributed to other less serious conditions, such as the flu.
"A patient may be tested for leukemia if he or she has unexplained weight loss, night sweats or fatigue, or if he or she bruises or bleeds easily," Dr. Siddon says. "Sometimes routine blood work shows an unexplained elevated number of white blood cells."
Leukemia is commonly misdiagnosed as the following conditions: Influenza. Fever. Pathological fracture.
Infections and anemia are the major causes of death in leukemic patients. Untreated, acute leukemia has an aggressive course, with death occurring within 6 months or less.
Acute leukemia symptoms can often appear suddenly
With acute leukemia, symptoms tend to develop very quickly. You may suddenly spike a fever that won't go away, develop an infection for no apparent reason, or start bleeding spontaneously from your nose or gums and not be able to stop it.
Chronic leukemia usually gets worse slowly, over months to years, while acute leukemia develops quickly and progresses over days to weeks. The two main types of leukemia can be further organized into groups that are based on the type of white blood cell that is affected — lymphoid or myeloid.
While the exact cause of leukemia—or any cancer, for that matter—is unknown, there are several risk factors that have been identified, such as radiation exposure, previous cancer treatment and being over the age of 65.
So while you may be able to see if you have genetic markers for future cancer development, there's currently no home test available that can tell you whether you have leukemia currently. Possible tests available for home use can give you an idea of your overall health and risk factors, but they can't diagnose leukemia.
Acute leukaemia develops very quickly. Chronic leukaemia tends to develop slowly. Usually over months or years without causing many symptoms.
Some leukemia symptoms, such as fever, vomiting, fatigue, aches and night sweats often resemble the cold, flu or other common illness. If symptoms don't go away at a normal pace (1-2 weeks), or you notice a combination of these symptoms at one time, make an appointment with your doctor for a diagnosis.
The onset of leukemia can be acute (sudden onset) or chronic (slow onset). In acute leukemia, cancer cells multiply quickly. In chronic leukemia, the disease progresses slowly and early symptoms may be very mild.
Stage 0 – A patient has high levels of white blood cells, but no other physical symptoms. Stage 1 – A patient has high levels of white blood cells and enlarged lymph nodes. Stage 2 – A patient has high levels of white blood cells and is anemic. He or she may also have enlarged lymph nodes.
Leukaemia symptoms commonly include fatigue, breathlessness, infections, and bruising or bleeding more easily. Leukaemia* symptoms vary depending on the type of leukaemia. Not everyone gets the same symptoms, and you won't necessarily have all of the symptoms. Most people with these symptoms won't have leukemia.
Leukemia starts in the soft, inner part of the bones (bone marrow), but often moves quickly into the blood. It can then spread to other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, central nervous system and other organs.
They occur in unusual places – In cases of leukaemia, quite often bruises will appear in places that you wouldn't normally expect, especially; the back, legs, and hands.
Understanding your blood count test results
If you have leukemia, your blood cells count will likely show higher than usual levels of white blood cells, which include leukemic cells. You may also have lower than usual red blood cell and platelet cell counts. If all three types are low, this is known as pancytopenia.
Who gets leukemia? Although it is often thought of as a children's disease, most cases of leukemia occur in older adults. More than half of all leukemia cases occur in people over the age of 65.
If caught early, leukemia can be cured by undergoing several cancer treatments.
In some cases, your doctor might order bone marrow testing even though your blood tests didn't indicate leukemia. That's because in some types of leukemia, cancer cells stay in the bone marrow and don't circulate in the blood.
Your doctor will conduct a complete blood count (CBC) to determine if you have leukemia. This test may reveal if you have leukemic cells. Abnormal levels of white blood cells and abnormally low red blood cell or platelet counts can also indicate leukemia.