Different Blood Cancer Types You Should Know About

For each kind of cancer there are often multiple types of that cancer. Blood cancer is no exception. There are several blood cancer types that individuals can and often do develop.

Blood cancer is a serious blood disease that generally affects the blood or bone marrow. Bone marrow is where blood starts because that is where blood cells are made. This is why most blood cancers also affect, either directly or indirectly, the bone marrow.

There are a variety of different types of these cancers based on what types of cells are affected and how quickly the disease progresses. Leukemia, which is one of the types of blood cancer, has several different types in itself.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia

This is a blood cancer that develops quickly from cells in the bone marrow. Of the many symptoms of this disease some of the earliest ones include excessive fatigue, and anemia which can lead to severe headaches and muscle weakness. Some of the other signs of this type of leukemia can manifest as pain in the bones as well as irregular bleeding such as irregular menstrual cycles, nose bleeds or becoming extremely easy to bruise.

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Although this type of cancer has similarities to acute myeloid leukemia it works at a much slower rate. Because of this some of the signs or symptoms are a little different and take more time to manifest themselves. An individual my experience the same symptom of anemia but may also present a slight fever as well as red marks known as petechiae on the skin. There may also be a noticeable pressure on the ribs of the left side due to the spleen being swollen with this blood cancer types.

Lymphocytic Leukemia

This type of leukemia is caused by B cells which are a variety of white blood cells becoming cancerous. It can become either acute or chronic but the signs and symptoms of each are basically the same. Early symptoms may include swelling in the lymph nodes, fever caused by the individual’s immune system trying to fight off the disease and easy bruising. A person may also feel pain in the stomach as well as in the bones, lack of appetite or a noticeable decrease in appetite and trouble breathing with extreme fatigue.

Multiple Myeloma Symptoms

In addition to the three types of leukemia there is also multiple myeloma. This particular blood cancer generally starts in the plasma cells which are also a type of white blood cells. One of the earliest signs of this disease is pain in the lower back due to small fractures in the bones. Some of the other symptoms include fatigue because the over production of the white blood cells can slow down the production of red blood cells which can also lead to anemia. Because these cells are known to make the immune system weaker individuals with this blood cancer types may also endure recurring infections and thickened blood which may in turn cause pain and numbness.