SearchExclusive.com

Causes and Types of Leukemia

The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates 60,300 new leukemia diagnosis in the U.S. this year. Sadly, roughly 24,370 will succumb to the disease.

Leukemia originates in the blood stem cells as either immature myeloid stem cells (monocytes, platelets, or granulocytes, which form clots or fight bacteria and infection) or immature lymphoid stem cells (or lymphocyte B, T or NK cells, which are white blood cells that battle infection and bodily threats). These immature cells, known as blast cells, produce abnormally and excessively, forcing out protective healthy cells.

Leukemia occurs in four main types, which are grouped dependant upon if they develop from lymphoid stem cells (known as lymphoblastic leukemias) or myeloid stem cells (known as myelogenous leukemias):

1. Acute lymphocytic leukemia
ACS research reports approximately 5,960 new cases of acute lymphocytic leukemia (or ALL) yearly in the U.S., and roughly 1,470 annual deaths. ALL largely affects child patients (3 in 4 children with leukemia) before the age of 5-years old. However, the majority of ALL deaths occur in patients older than 50-years old due to the fact that younger patients better respond to aggressive ALL treatment, which usually includes a combination of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, stem cell transplant, and sometimes immunology.

2. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (or CLL) is considered a leukemia that occurs in mainly older adult patients, with a 70-year old average age of diagnosis. ALL is very rare in child patients and any patient under 40-years old. Accounting for approximately 20,940 diagnosis yearly and roughly 4,510 fatalities, CLL progresses slow yet metastasis (spreads) rather aggressively to nearby organs (i.e., liver or spleen) if not treated with a usual course of radiation, chemo, stem cell transplant, and in rarer cases, immunology.

3. Acute myeloid leukemia
Acute myeloid leukemia (or AML) is considered the most common form of the disease, accounting for approximately 19,520 leukemia diagnosis and 10,670 leukemia deaths yearly. AML mainly strikes older patients, with an average age of diagnosis at 68-years old. AML is not only the most prevalent leukemia, it’s rate of progression is considered rather aggressively compared to other types of leukemia. However, with a combined treatment plan of targeted therapies, radiation, chemotherapy, and in rarer cases, stem cell transplant, healthy younger patients have a 70% to 80% rate of remission and a 5-year survival rate of about 26%.

4. Chronic myeloid leukemia
The ACS reports roughly 8,430 cases of chronic myeloid leukemia (or CML) and 1,090 associated deaths, yearly in the U.S. Another type of leukemia that mainly strikes older adults, the average age of CML patients is 65-years old and older. CML is seen very rarely in child patients. Cancer researchers claim that CML develops genetically due to an abnormal Ph (or Philadelphia) chromosome, which triggers the cause the mass growth of abnormal white blood cells. CML is typically treated by radiation, oral chemotherapy, stem cell transplant, and/or immunotherapy.

Related Reading

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Most of the dogs do not have a food fuss and may eat almost anything that you feed them. Dogs are not choosy at all when it comes to food and nutrition. Hence, it is important to make sure that the food that you are purchasing for your dog is healthy. The landscape of dog food has been developing by leaps and bounds in recent times. There is a wide variety of options to choose from in the online and offline market. Given the wide range of options that are available today, buying the best dog food might seem to be a confusing task indeed. All the commercial pet food that is available in the market today is regulated by the FDA. Therefore, most of the products do contain nutritious, healthy, and safe ingredients. But it does help to know certain basic factors you should look for while buying food for your dog. Prioritize on the nutritional guarantee The best dog food, which meets the dog’s needs adequately has a statement written on the label of the product, from the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Buy from some of the best dog food brands, such as Fromm Family Foods, Earthborn Holistic, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and The Honest Kitchen.

Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

The most important aspect when designing your kitchen is deciding on the type of cabinets. In addition to functionality, kitchen cabinets score on aesthetics as well. Once the layout is planned, you can go ahead with choosing the cabinets. If you’re remodeling your home or just the kitchen, what you need to consider are the types of cabinets that furnish your kitchen. Here are a few types of kitchen cabinets that you can choose from. Base cabinets These kitchen cabinets are mounted on the floor and they are placed after checking out the floor plan. A major part of your job in the kitchen is on these base cabinets, which hold and support the countertops. These base cabinets are combined to carve out kitchen islands. A number of base cabinets are fused/set against one another and installed on site. The base cabinets, in addition to supporting the countertops, serve as drawers to hold your cutlery and appliances. Wall cabinets Mounted on the walls, these cabinets can store everything, right from your cookware to cookbooks. In terms of design, they offer utmost flexibility. Wall cabinet kitchen is available in varying heights, multiple widths, and custom depth options. This customization helps you to fit in your stuff of varying shapes and sizes into the wall cabinets.

How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

In today’s world, where you are presented with over a dozen choices for every item you would purchase for your own kitchen, it is not surprising that you have an equal number of options for your dog’s food. However, choosing the perfect brand and formula for your dog out of a range of options in the market is not an easy job. Your pet depends on you and trusts you to make the right choice for them. Therefore, it is imperative that you do your research about the products available in the market, understand what your dog needs, know what might be your pet’s problems, and then make a sound decision. What is a sensitive stomach? Dogs are known to have voracious and large appetites. Keeping that in mind, it is normal to assume that they have strong stomachs. They can eat close to anything be it sweets, bakes, chewy gum, hard leather or even woolen socks for that matter! It always so happens that the strongest of them are prone to allergies and can develop a disorder which is medically translated as a sensitive stomach. This might be due to a sudden change in the food habits or even due an infection picked up from somewhere.

All You Need to Know about Cat Food

For cat owners, cat food is a hot topic. You need to think about it in different aspects. The best thing is to know which ingredients are good for cat food and which are harmful. If you are aware of this, you can get an idea about the quality of the cat food just by going through the label. It is always sensible to stick to one brand of cat food. However, you may also want to try and prepare cat food yourself. There are also various options for wet cat food as well. Cat’s love for fish is universal, so you can do without going for expensive cat food. Nevertheless, whether you buy it or prepare cat food at home, you need to ensure that the food contains enough nutrition and calories. You would need to have some idea about the ingredients that must be present in cat food and make a worthy selection for your cat. Basic ingredients present in good cat foods Cats need a variety of nutrients to stay healthy and active; they need various vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, and oils. The following is a brief explanation of the basic ingredients that should be present in cat foods.