What is leukemia?
Leukemia is a term for cancers of the blood cells. Leukemia starts in blood-forming tissues such as the bone marrow. Your bone marrow makes the cells which will develop into white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. Each type of cell has a different job:
- White blood cells help your body fight infection
- Red blood cells deliver oxygen from your lungs to your tissues and organs
- Platelets help form clots to stop bleeding
When you have leukemia, your bone marrow makes large numbers of abnormal cells. This problem most often happens with white blood cells. These abnormal cells build up in your bone marrow and blood. They crowd out the healthy blood cells and make it hard for your cells and blood to do their work.
- Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (National Library of Medicine)... and blood to do their work. What is chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)? Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a type of chronic leukemia. "Chronic" ... age. It is rare in children. What causes chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)? Most people with CML have a genetic ...
- Chronic myeloid leukemia is a slow-growing cancer of the blood-forming tissue (bone marrow). Normal bone marrow produces red blood cells (erythrocytes) that carry ...
- Kantarjian H, Cortes J. Chronic myeloid leukemia. In: Niederhuber JE, Armitage JO, Kastan MB, Doroshow JH, Tepper JE, eds. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; ...
- Living as a Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Survivor (American Cancer Society)For most people, chronic myeloid leukemia can be kept in check, but not usually cured. Learn what to expect here.
- What Causes Chronic Myeloid Leukemia? (American Cancer Society)... don't know the exact cause of most chronic myeloid leukemia, but a great deal of research is being ...
- Tests for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (American Cancer Society)... help find out if it's cancer. Learn about chronic myeloid leukemia diagnosis tests here.
- Can Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Be Found Early? (American Cancer Society)No screening tests are routinely recommended for chronic myeloid leukemia, but it is sometimes found early with routine blood tests or because of symptoms. Learn more here.
- Cancer Statistics: Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (National Cancer Institute)Chronic Myeloid Leukemia statistics
- What Is Chronic Myeloid Leukemia? (American Cancer Society)Chronic myeloid leukemia is a type of cancer that starts in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow. Learn more about chronic myeloid leukemia here.
- Risk Factors for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (American Cancer Society)... risk factors may increase your chance of developing chronic myeloid leukemia. This guide will help you learn about possible causes of chronic myeloid leukemia.