We just learned a little about Blood Cancer.
One of the three types of blood cancer is called Leukemia.
The word leukemia comes from the words for white and blood, because this is a cancer of the white blood cells.
This disease usually starts in the bone marrow where all of the blood cells are being made.
A type of blood cells called blasts that are not totally made right start getting made in the bone marrow and sent around the body.
These blasts take the place of normal healthy blood cells and then the body gets sick because it doesn't have the right kinds of blood cells doing the right jobs.
There are 4 main kinds of leukemia:
- Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
- Acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
- Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)
The different types of leukemia depend on which types of blood cells are having problems, and how fast the cancer is spreading.
(from: wikipedia - leukemia)
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