Leukemia is a cancer (malignant disease) of the blood or 'bone marrow', (soft tissue found in the hollow interior of the bone.) It is characterized by the uncontrolled production of abnormal blood cells, usually white blood cells. The word leukemia means "white blood", which was derived by leukemia patients high white blood count. An excessive amount of white blood cells can interfere with other normal functioning cells.  

There are four different categories of Leukemia:

* Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL): This type of leukemia is a rapidly progressing disease that is the most common type of Leukemia for children. However it does occur in adults, especially those over 65 years of age.

* Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL): This type of leukemia (chronic) progresses more slowly than acute and most commonly affect those over 55 years of age. Once in a while will occur in a young adult but very rarely occurs in a child.

* Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML): More common to occur in an adult than a child.

* Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML): Occurs mainly in adults and sometimes in children.

Some Statistics to Think About:

* At present, 218,659 people are living with leukemia in the United States.

* Leukemia affects about nine in 100,000 people each year.

* It is expected that 21,790 deaths yearly in the United States are caused by leukemia.

* Once diagnosed with leukemia, the five year survival rate is 42 percent.

* The estimated numbers of deaths caused by leukemia in the US are about 30 percent higher for males than females.

* Adults are 10 times more likely to be diagnosed with leukemia than children, especially the elderly.

* About 515 children under the age of 14 are expected to die every year from leukemia.

* Children under the age of 4 have a greater chance of developing leukemia than older children.

Symptoms:

Damage to the bone marrow will lead to a deficiency in the level of blood platelets which is important for blood clotting. This means people with leukemia may have problems with bruising, and bleed excessively, and develop petechiae on their skin. Petechiae is a small red or purple spot on the body caused by a minor hemorrhage. Other common symptoms for those who have leukemia are:

* Weak immune system

* Anemia

* Fever, chills, and night sweats (flu like).

* Easily fatigued and weak.

* Swollen and bleeding gums.

* Frequent infection

* Bone and joint pain

* Dizziness

* Swollen tonsils