Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), also known as chronic myelogenous leukemia, is a type of cancer that starts in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow and invades the blood.
Both names mean the same thing, but my doctor is calling it Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, so I'm going to go along with him on this.
It is usually associated with a chromosome abnormality called the Philadelphia chromosome. In CML, leukemia cells tend to build up in the body over time, but in many cases people don't have any symptoms for at least a few years. I can look back on old blood tests from two years ago that indicated something was going haywire with my blood cells. It was thought I had infections at the time. I don't blame my doctors It is a common diagnosis for those types of blood results. At that time I did not have the increase in myelocytes that would have made the diagnosis more obvious. (more on myelocytes later) NOTE: Get copies of all your test results! You are legally entitled to them.
In time, the cells can also invade other parts of the body, including the spleen. CML can also change into a fast-growing acute leukemia that invades almost any organ in the body.
I do not have an enlarged spleen. That has been proven by CT scans. My CML has been diagnosed early, so it is not expected that I will have any aggressiveness coming up any time soon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Photo is of myself in 2004, taken in Monterey, California. I remember the wind was blowing off from the ocean. It was a cold sunny day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is part of an article from Scientific News as published in ACOR. I cannot find the original reference.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love your comments! I will approve and respond as soon as possible. Thank you for posting them.
I'm sorry that Anonymous comments are no longer accepted. I've gotten too many spammers that way. If you would like to comment directly my profile provides a way to do that.