Death 12 hours after earache, headache

Over the weekend, Julia Chavez felt unwell, with earaches and headaches. Her parents took her to a hospital in Columbia, USA. After X-rays and blood tests, doctors concluded that Julia had leukemia.

According to The Sun, her father, Dennis Lee Chavez, said Julia suffered from bleeding in the brain, lungs and stomach. “It all happened so fast, so hard. Doctors said it was difficult to detect early,” Mr. Chavez said.

In addition to earaches and headaches, Julia had occasionally suffered from bruises. However, her family did not worry because she was quite active. "When she had bruises, we asked her why, and she said, 'I don't know.' We thought she was just being a little mischievous," the father confided.

Blood cancer test. Illustration photo

Julia has never been seriously ill, except for the occasional sniffles. She wants to be an artist and loves Japanese culture. She always puts her family first and loves her loved ones.

According to the Support FundcancerMacmillan, blood cancer or leukemia (white blood) is the general name of a group of malignant blood diseases. The disease is named according to the type of white blood cell affected and whether it is chronic or acute.

Acute leukemia occurs suddenly, usually over days or weeks, progresses rapidly, and requires urgent treatment. Chronic leukemia develops more slowly, usually over months or years.

Acute leukemia is more likely to cause symptoms that appear over a few weeks and people will feel ill quite quickly, experts explain.

Some symptoms include paleness, fatigue, shortness of breath, dizziness, lightheadedness, palpitations (feeling like your heart is beating fast), sore throat, mouth, fever, unexplained bruising, nosebleeds, bleeding gums, skin rash, heavy menstrual periods.

People may also experience night sweats, unexplained weight loss, aches and pains, and visual disturbances.

Experts have not yet found the exact cause of acute leukemia. However, there are some factors that increase the risk including radiation exposure, use of certain chemicals, congenital diseases (Down syndrome), precancerous diseases (myelodysplastic syndrome), and some viruses such as HLLV-1./.