Acute Myelogenous Leukemia - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Acute Myelogenous Leukemia - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
By David Austin

Acute myelogenous leukemia is the most common leukemia and is a fast growing cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Blood cells in the body are made up of platelets known as white and red blood cells. Those who have AML don't have enough white or red blood cells and instead posses abnormal cells that grow quickly as the illness progresses.

AML is not genetic nor is it infectious however it is mostly caused by being exposed to benzene.

What is Benzene?

Benzene is an organic chemical compound. Benzene is used in production of oil, rubber, dyes and plastic. Benzene is commonly used as an additive in other chemicals. There are small amounts of benzene used in manufacturing processes for instance, detergents, pesticides and drugs.

Benzene is linked to various forms of cancer, as well as other physical issues such as dizziness and mental confusion; anemia; and depressed functioning of the immune system.. People are often not aware that they have been exposed to benzene.

Symptoms of AML

Benzene exposure may occur when people breathe or ingest it through any number of common products used in daily life and at work. Being exposed can lead to a fatal illness such as acute myelogenous leukemia. There are signs you can look for.

Some symptoms of AML include:

* Abdominal swelling

* Infections that continue or repeat

* Difficulty breathing and lack of energy

* Pain in the joints or bones

Treatments

Age and disease subtype are factors that doctors will take into consideration in planning the right treatment for the person living with AML. Some treatments that are considered are:

* Chemotherapy

* Transplants from bone marrow or cord blood

* If the subtype is promyelocytic leukemia, then all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) may be used.

If you think you may have been exposed to benzene and have any of the symptoms listed above, please, contact an experienced attorney to get legal support and the direction you need.

David Austin is an Attorney focused on complex injury cases. You can learn more about Acute Myelogenous Leukemia at his website. Burke-Eisner.com

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My Experience With Hairy Cell Leukemia

My Experience With Hairy Cell Leukemia
By James Mckay

Being told I had leukemia was a shock and I don't mind admitting I burst into tears in the Consultants Office.

For me and my family, the most important thing was to get the treatment needed to fight this cancer of the blood. I hadn't been well for about eighteen months before the diagnosis, I felt very tired and unfit.

During a lovely holiday in Bermuda, I started to feel as though I had got the flu coming on and I had to go to see my doctor when I arrived home in England because by this time I couldn't breath very well. I had actually got legionnaires disease - which to put it simply meant that I had pneumonia, the TB I had as a child showed up on my X rays, and I was very ill for 6 weeks. I was taking 8 different antibiotics daily to fight this off.

Interestingly, my husband was fine - no symptoms at all - I realise now that my white blood cells were already being attached by the cancer and this in turn brought my immune system down.

It was over a year after getting legionnaires that I knew something was wrong because I found I needed to go to bed in the afternoon due to fatigue - I had only to knock myself lightly and I would have a big black bruise.

After visiting my doctor again, who referred me to the local hospital, where tests were done which included blood tests and a sample of my bone marrow was extracted from my hip bone - not a ery pleasant experience I have to say,the diagnosis came in that I had hairy cell leukemia, it's called that because the tumors look like they are covered in tiny hairs under the microscope.

The chemotherapy was simple - basically the chemicals needed to kill off the cancer cells are fed into you intravenously - I firstly had a liquid injected prior to the chemo, this was to stop me from being sick - thank goodness it worked. I was also lucky that my hair did not come out in clumps - I had severe dandruff but that was all.

I had to have 5 two hour chemo sessions Monday to Friday and I felt very weak by the last session, I was given some needles to inject myself with, these contained a solution described by the doctor as Fertiliser for White Cells. I did the injections and found I was getting rather a lot of discomfort in the hip and thigh bones - this was caused by the injections as the solution was stimulating my bone marrow and aiding the clean new white cells to grow (sorry I cannot explain it in more medical terminology) and that was what caused the discomfort. It was a small price to pay to get my blood clean again.

I have been very lucky, my sort of leukemia is treatable and as long as infections are avoided after and during the chemo, a full recovery after 6 months is perfectly achievable.

I have been in remission now for three years, visit my consultant every six months and he says my blood is very healthy, so I thank god for that and of course the medical profession who are just fantastic.

I am now officially retired as I am aged 62 years but I have just bought a franchise selling web sites, please feel free to look http://www.web2riches.co.uk

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MDS Leukemia - Living With the Disease

MDS Leukemia - Living With the Disease
By David Austin

MDS (or Myelodysplastic Syndromes) generally refer to a group of blood cancers. Other types of MDS are non-progressive and may have no definite effect on the patient's health. While other sub-types are slow-progressive and may be related to leukemia, which will definitely have serious effects on one's health and life expectancy.

Myleodysplastic syndromes typically affect the cell-forming activities in the bone marrow. These cells are normally developed into mature red or white blood cells and platelets before they flow out to bloodstream. Myleodysplastic syndromes prevent blood cell formation. When blast cells in the bone marrow and blood are significantly higher, but dying before or after release into the bloodstream; the non-functional cells will continuously build-up inside the bone marrow. These abnormal activities of the blood cells may develop into a disease called MDS Leukemia.

In many cases, myleodysplastic syndromes will worsen into a type of leukemia - MDS Leukemia. When blast cell occurrence is in low proportions, doctors refer to the disorder as MDS. When there are higher proportions, the condition has worsened into a cancerous stage and is referred as MDS Leukemia. Thus, MDS and Leukemia are often joined together and have same methods of treatment.

The number of new cases of MDS in the United States is unknown. However, medical reports shown that the number of MDS cases is equivalent to the number of patients suffering from acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Around 12,000 people were diagnosed with AML in 2006.

AML is incurable and often found in patients 60 years of age and above; but less common in children.

David Austin is an Attorney focused on complex injury cases. You can learn more about MDS Leukemia at his website. Burke-Eisner.com

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