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What Is Leukemia?
Leukemia is a type of Cancer. Cancer is a group of many related diseases. All cancers begin in cells, which make up blood and other tissues. Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them. When cells grow old, they die, and new cells take their place.

Sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. New cells form when the body does not need them, and old cells do not die when they should. Leukemia is cancer that begins in blood cells.

Normal Blood Cells
Blood cells form in the Bone marrow. Bone marrow is the soft material in the center of most bones.

Immature blood cells are called Stem cells and blasts. Most blood cells mature in the bone marrow and then move into the Blood vessels. Blood flowing through the blood vessels and heart is called the Peripheral blood.

The bone marrow makes different types of blood cells. Each type has a special function:

• White Blood Cells help fight Infection.
• Red blood cells carry oxygen to tissues throughout the body.
• Platelets help form blood clots that control bleeding.

Leukemia Cells
In people with leukemia, the bone marrow produces abnormal white blood cells. The abnormal cells are leukemia cells. At first, leukemia cells function almost normally. In time, they may crowd out normal white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets. This makes it hard for blood to do its work.

Types of Leukemia
The types of leukemia are grouped by how quickly the disease develops and gets worse. Leukemia is either chronic (gets worse slowly) or acute (gets worse quickly):

• Chronic leukemia - Early in the disease, the abnormal blood cells can still do their work, and people with chronic leukemia may not have any symptoms. Slowly, chronic leukemia gets worse. It causes symptoms as the number of leukemia cells in the blood rises.
• Acute Leukemia - The blood cells are very abnormal. They cannot carry out their normal work. The number of abnormal cells increases rapidly. Acute leukemia worsens quickly.

The types of leukemia are also grouped by the type of white blood cell that is affected. Leukemia can arise in Lymphoid cells or Myeloid cells. Leukemia that affects lymphoid cells is called Lymphocytic leukemia. Leukemia that affects myeloid cells is called myeloid leukemia or Myelogenous leukemia.

There are four common types of leukemia:

1. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (Chronic lymphoblastic leukemia, CLL) accounts for about 7,000 new cases of leukemia each year. Most often, people diagnosed with the disease are over age 55. It almost never affects children.
2. Chronic myeloid leukemia (Chronic myelogenous leukemia, CML) accounts for about 4,400 new cases of leukemia each year. It affects mainly adults.
3. Acute lymphocytic leukemia (Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, ALL) accounts for about 3,800 new cases of leukemia each year. It is the most common type of leukemia in young children. It also affects adults.
4. Acute myeloid leukemia (Acute myelogenous leukemia, AML) accounts for about 10,600 new cases of leukemia each year. It occurs in both adults and children.