Early signs of leukemia

Easy bruising, joint pain, frequent fatigue and swollen lymph nodes can be early warning signs of a dangerous blood disease.

Blood cancer (also known as leukemia, leukemia) is a malignant cancer. When sick, the white blood cells in the patient's body will increase suddenly. Normally, white blood cells have the task of protecting the body, but when they increase suddenly, a large number of white blood cells will become "aggressive" and harmful to the body. At that time, white blood cells will lack "food", leading to the phenomenon of "eating" red blood cells, causing the red blood cells to be gradually destroyed, the patient will become anemic and die.

Stomach-ache

Abdominal pain is one of the symptoms of leukemia. It is the result of leukemia cells accumulating in the kidneys, liver and spleen, causing the abdomen to enlarge. Stomach pain is often accompanied by loss of appetite and weight loss.

Photo: onlymyhealth.

Anemia

Red blood cells deliver oxygen to the body through the blood, but an abnormal increase in white blood cells can interfere with this process. Anemia is one of the most common complications associated with leukemia.

Easy bruising

The most common symptoms associated with leukemia are easy bruising and uncontrolled bleeding. This happens because normal blood cells are constantly being replaced by abnormal, immature white blood cells. This causes platelets (clotting factors) to be lost, and the blood cannot clot.

Swollen lymph nodes

Cancer cells can build up in the lymph nodes. As a result, the lymph nodes under the arms, in the groin, on the chest, and in the neck may swell. Lymph nodes are small bean-shaped structures that help filter the blood.

Bone and joint pain

A common complication of leukemia is pain in the bones and joints. The pain occurs because the bone marrow is filled with abnormal cells.

Frequent infections

Leukemia impairs the function of white blood cells, which help the body fight infection. As a result, patients suffer from frequent infections caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi.

Shortness of breath

With acute T-cell leukemia, cancer cells tend to surround the thymus gland, causing pain and difficulty breathing. Other complications include wheezing and coughing.

Tired

Due to the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells, patients often feel tired and weak even when resting.

Other symptoms

Other common symptoms of leukemia include sudden loss of appetite, weight loss, excessive sweating especially at night, high fever, dizziness and nosebleeds.

According to VnExpress