- Ask questions about your past health and symptoms.
- Do a physical exam. The doctor will look for swollen lymph nodes and check to see if your spleen or liver is enlarged.
- Order blood tests. Leukemia causes a high level of white blood cells and low levels of other types of blood cells.
If your blood tests are not normal, the doctor may want to do a bone marrow biopsy. This test lets the doctor look at cells from inside your bone. This can give key information about what type of leukemia it is so you can get the right treatment.
How is it treated?
What type of treatment you need will depend on many things, including what kind of leukemia you have, how far along it is, and your age and overall health.
If you have acute leukemia, you will need quick treatment to stop the rapid growth of leukemia cells. In many cases, treatment makes acute leukemia go into remission. Some doctors prefer the term "remission" to "cure," because there is a chance the cancer could come back.
If you have chronic lymphocytic leukemia, you may not need to be treated until you have symptoms. But chronic myelogenous leukemia will probably be treated right away. Chronic leukemia can rarely be cured, but treatment can help control the disease.
Treatments for leukemia include
Chemotherapy, which uses powerful medicines to kill cancer cells. This is the main treatment for most types of leukemia.
Radiation treatments. Radiation therapy uses high-dose X-rays to destroy cancer cells and shrink swollen lymph nodes or an enlarged spleen. It may also be used before a stem cell transplant.
Stem cell transplant. Donated stem cells can rebuild your supply of normal blood cells and boost your immune system. Before the transplant, radiation or chemotherapy is used to destroy cells in bone marrow and make room for donated cells.
Biological therapy. This is the use of special medicines that improve your body's natural defenses against cancer.
For some people, clinical trials are a treatment option. Clinical trials are research projects to test new medicines and other treatments. Often people with leukemia take part in these studies.
Some treatments for leukemia can cause side effects. Your doctor can tell you what problems are common and help you find ways to manage them.
Finding out that you or your child has leukemia can be a terrible shock. It may help to:
Learn all you can about the type of leukemia you have and its treatment. This will help you make the best choices and know what to expect.
Stay as strong and well as possible. A healthy diet, plenty of rest, and regular exercise can help.
Talk to other people or families who have faced this disease. Ask your doctor about support groups in your area. You can also find people online who will share their experiences with you.
From: http://www.webmd.com
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