Leukemia is a type of blood cancer that affects the bone marrow and white blood cells. It spreads easily and quickly and can be an extremely dangerous kind of cancer. It is estimated that in America, approximately 21,040 people will be diagnosed with chronic leukemia, specifically chronic lymphocytic leukemia, in 2020. While the number of deaths that occur due to this disease has decreased, it is still very difficult to cure at an advanced stage. In people under the age of twenty, the most common type of leukemia to occur is acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The common risk factors and causes of leukemia are smoking, exposure to radiation, family history of the condition, a side effect of a genetic disorder, etc. Acute myeloid leukemia is the most lethal form of leukemia.

Chronic leukemia is the type of leukemia that spreads quite slowly through the body. There are two types of chronic leukemia:

• chronic lymphocytic leukemia
• chronic myeloid leukemia

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
CLL contributes to one-third of all leukemia diagnosis. Symptoms may not occur for a long period of time and the progression of the cancer is slower than acute leukemia. CLL occurs in B lymph cells and its symptoms are as follows:

• Weakness
• Fatigue
• Sudden weight loss
• Chills and fever
• Sweats at night
• Inflammation of lymph nodes
• Pain in the abdomen
• A sense of fullness in the belly, even after a small meal. This is caused by an enlarged spleen or liver
• Anemia — a condition that occurs due to the shortage of red blood cells. This shows symptoms such as weakness, fatigue, dizziness, and shortness of breath
• Thrombocytopenia — the shortage of blood platelets which causes excessive bleeding and poor clotting when required.
• Neutropenia — lack of neutrophils, which causes poor defense against bacteria.
• Leukopenia — the shortage of normal white cells is called leukopenia and it affects the body’s ability to defend itself from infections.
• Frequent infections
• Autoimmunity — the immune system tends to make mutated antibodies which tend to attack normal, healthy cells instead of antigens. If these antibodies attack red blood cells, it causes low red blood cell count and is termed as autoimmune hemolytic anemia. If they attack platelets, causing trouble in clotting. Rarely, they attack other white blood cells, causing leukopenia.

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML)
This is the rarest form of leukemia and only affects 10 percent of the patients with leukemia. It occurs when the mutation causes myeloid cells to grow into cancerous cells. They develop gradually and affect the bone marrow and enter the bloodstream.

The symptoms of CML are:

• Weakness
• Fatigue
• Fever and chills
• Night sweats
• Bone and joint pain
• Weight loss
• Loss in appetite
• Enlarged spleen
• Inflammation in the abdomen
• A sense of fullness in the belly
• Feeling full even after a small meal
• Anemia — causes weakness, dizziness, and suffocation.
• Leukopenia — increases the risk of developing diseases and infections.
• Neutropenia — increases the risk of acquiring bacterial infections.
• Thrombocytopenia — leads to easy bleeding and difficulty in clotting wounds.