Blood Cancers: Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma in Houma & South Louisiana

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.

There are different types of leukemia. Which type of leukemia you have depends on the type of blood cell that becomes cancer and whether it grows quickly or slowly.

The type of blood cell could be:

• Lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell
• Myeloid cells, immature cells that become white blood cells, red blood cells, or platelets

The different types can grow quickly or slowly:

• Acute leukemia is fast growing. It usually gets worse quickly if it's not treated.
• Chronic leukemia is slow growing. It usually gets worse over a longer period of time.

The main types of leukemia are:

• Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), which is the most common type of cancer in children. It can also affect adults.
• Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which is more common in older adults but can also affect children
• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), which is one of the most common types of leukemia in adults. It often occurs during or after middle age.
• Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), which usually occurs in adults during or after middle age

Leukemia happens when there are changes in the genetic material (DNA) in bone marrow cells. The cause of these genetic changes is unknown.

For the specific types, there are different factors which can raise your risk of getting that type. Overall, your risk of leukemia goes up as you age. It is most common over age 60.

Some of the symptoms of leukemia may include:

• Feeling tired
• Fever or night sweats
• Easy bruising or bleeding
• Weight loss or loss of appetite
• Petechiae, which are tiny red dots under the skin. They are caused by bleeding.

Other leukemia symptoms can be different from type to type. Chromic leukemia may not cause symptoms at first.

Your health care provider may use many tools to diagnose leukemia:

• A physical exam
• A medical history
• Blood tests, such as a complete blood count (CBC)
• Bone marrow tests. There are two main types - bone marrow aspiration and bone marrow biopsy. Both tests involve removing a sample of bone marrow and bone. The samples are sent to a lab for testing.
• Genetic tests to look for gene and chromosome changes

Once the provider makes a diagnosis, there may be additional tests to see whether the cancer has spread. These include imaging tests and a lumbar puncture, which is a procedure to collect and test cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

The treatments for leukemia depend on which type you have, how severe the leukemia is, your age, your overall health, and other factors. Some possible treatments might include:

• Chemotherapy
• Radiation therapy
• Chemotherapy with stem cell transplant
• Targeted therapy, which uses drugs or other substances that attack specific cancer cells with less harm to normal cells

Lymphoma is a cancer of a part of the immune system called the lymph system. There are many types of lymphoma. One type is Hodgkin disease. The rest are called non-Hodgkin lymphomas.

Non-Hodgkin lymphomas begin when a type of white blood cell, called a T cell or B cell, becomes abnormal. The cell divides again and again, making more and more abnormal cells. These abnormal cells can spread to almost any other part of the body. Most of the time, doctors don't know why a person gets non-Hodgkin lymphoma. You are at increased risk if you have a weakened immune system or have certain types of infections.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma can cause many symptoms, such as :

• Swollen, painless lymph nodes in the neck, armpits or groin
• Unexplained weight loss
• Fever
• Soaking night sweats
• Coughing, trouble breathing or chest pain
• Weakness and tiredness that don't go away
• Pain, swelling or a feeling of fullness in the abdomen

Your doctor will diagnose lymphoma with a physical exam, blood tests, a chest x-ray, and a biopsy. Treatments include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, biological therapy, or therapy to remove proteins from the blood. Targeted therapy uses drugs or other substances that attack specific cancer cells with less harm to normal cells. Biologic therapy boosts your body's own ability to fight cancer. If you don't have symptoms, you may not need treatment right away. This is called watchful waiting.

Multiple myeloma is a cancer that begins in plasma cells, a type of white blood cell. These cells are part of your immune system, which helps protect the body from germs and other harmful substances. In time, myeloma cells collect in the bone marrow and in the solid parts of bones.

No one knows the exact causes of multiple myeloma, but it is more common in older people and African Americans. It can run in families. Common symptoms may include:

• Bone pain, often in the back or ribs
• Fractures (broken bones)
• Weakness or fatigue
• Weight loss
• Frequent infections and fevers
• Feeling very thirsty
• Frequent urination

Doctors diagnose multiple myeloma using lab tests, imaging tests, and a bone marrow biopsy. Your treatment depends on how advanced the disease is and whether you have symptoms. If you have no symptoms, you may not need treatment right away. If you have symptoms, you may have chemotherapy, stem cell transplantation, radiation, or targeted therapy. Targeted therapy uses drugs or other substances that attack specific cancer cells with less harm to normal cells.