Leukemia is known as blood cancer because the failure occurs in the cells of the bone marrow, a tissue that is located inside our bones and where blood is made. Chronic leukemia mostly affects adults over 60 years old.

Symptoms

It can manifest with fever, severe fatigue, feeling weak, weight and/or appetite loss, a bleeding tendency (hematoma/hemorrhage), unexplained anemia, night sweats, bone pain, enlarged spleen with pain and/or feeling of fullness in the abdomen, among others. Its diagnosis is made with a blood test looking for an increase in leukocytes or white blood cells, whose function is to defend ourselves against infections. If this disease is suspected, it must be confirmed with a bone marrow study through a biopsy that must include a genetic study.

Dr. Mauricio León
Mastologist at Clínica Ricardo Palma