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Researchers are continually finding new treatment methods for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and people diagnosed with the disease now have more hope for survival than ever before.
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Treatment for cancer is usually described as either local or systemic. Local treatments remove, destroy, or control the cancer cells in one certain area. When directed at one part of the body, radiation therapy is an example of local treatment. Systemic treatments are used to destroy or control cancer cells throughout the entire body. When taken by mouth or injection, chemotherapy is an example of systemic treatment. In most cases, treatment for leukemia is systemic as the cancer cells are located throughout your body in the bloodstream
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It helps to learn all you can about your disease and treatment choices so that you can take an active part in decisions about your medical care. Discuss these choices with your doctor, other healthcare professionals, and loved ones. Your doctor is the best person to answer your questions about treatment. Make sure you ask how the treatment will change your daily life, including your diet, and how you will look and feel after treatment. Ask how successful the treatment is expected to be, and what its risks and side effects may be.
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Your doctor may request tests to learn more about your specific type of leukemia and to see if the leukemia is causing any other problems in your body. This will help your doctor decide on the most effective types of treatment for you. You may need one or more of these tests.
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The way a cancer grows is called its pathophysiology. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the only type of leukemia whose pathophysiology is described in terms of well-defined stages.
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A prognosis is a statement about the prospect of surviving and recovering from a disease. It may seem hard to ask, "Can I survive this?” But it's a question most people have when they learn they have leukemia. Unfortunately, there isn't an easy answer.
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Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. It is a systemic therapy because the drugs travel throughout your body in your bloodstream, killing cancer cells. The goal of chemotherapy is to kill enough leukemia cells to put the disease into remission and keep it there. Remission is when the signs and symptoms of cancer--either partially or totally--respond to treatment. With leukemia, remission does not mean the cancer is cured. If the cancer is very advanced and can't be controlled, chemotherapy may help ease symptoms caused by cancer. This can improve your quality of life.
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For chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), chemotherapy is the first line of treatment after watchful waiting. If you develop symptoms, your doctor will probably suggest that you undergo chemotherapy treatments.
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Most people have chemotherapy in an outpatient part of the hospital, at the doctor's office, or at home. However, you may need to stay in the hospital during treatment. This will depend upon the drugs you are given and your general health. You may receive these drugs in pill form, by injection or IV, or in more than one way.
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Because these drugs are broken down by your liver and filtered by your kidneys, it's important that you flush them out of your system after treatment. You may be given an IV solution of saline to help with that while you're in the hospital. When you leave the hospital, you need to drink a lot of fluids. It is possible that you will need antibiotics to treat infections or a blood transfusion to treat anemia. These problems can both be side effects of either the treatment or the leukemia itself.
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Targeted cancer therapies are designed to recognize a specific change in a cancer cell that drives the growth and spread of a tumor. These drugs zero in on their molecular or immunologic target. That's how they destroy or slow the growth of cancer cells. They do this while avoiding normal, healthy cells. Because healthy tissues are spared, these treatments tend to cause fewer and less severe side effects than other standard treatments.
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Your doctor may suggest this treatment if you have stage I, II, III, or IV chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and chemotherapy has not worked for you.
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The monoclonal antibody used to treat CLL is called Campath (alemtuzumab). Rituxan (rituximab) is also used but is not yet approved for this disease.
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The main side effects of monoclonal antibody therapy are fever and chills during the treatment. The fever may be high, but goes down or away when the infusion is slowed or stopped. You may also get an infection more easily because the antibodies damage your immune system cells. You may get a special treatment ahead of time to reduce the impact of these side effects.
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Stem cells are immature cells that are the "starter” cells for all types of tissues. When you have leukemia, a stem cell transplant can help your body make new healthy blood cells. It replaces the leukemia cells and stem cells that are killed during high-dose chemotherapy. However, these stem cells transplants are not commonly used to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
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You should know that stem cell transplants are somewhat controversial. Not all doctors think they work. They aren't used often for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Your doctor may suggest one, though, in cases like these.
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Stem cell transplants are not a common treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). When they are used, here's what happens.
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The early side effects of a stem cell transplant are mostly from the high-dose chemotherapy you get before the transplant. The side effects aren't from the transplant but from the high-dose chemotherapy and radiation. These should go away as you recover from the transplant. You may also experience a strange taste in your mouth from the preservative used to freeze the stem cells. These are some of the other most common side effects. They vary based on whether the transplanted cells came from you or from a donor. Ask your doctor which side effects are most likely for you.
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Radiation therapy uses high-energy X-rays to kill cancer cells, although it is usually not the main treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). It may also be used to ease symptoms, such as pain or pressure on organs from other enlarged organs.
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Your doctor may recommend radiation therapy for these reasons. You need radiation to help manage symptoms. For example, you may have a swollen spleen pressing against another organ, such as your stomach. This can cause a lack of appetite. In this case, radiation can be used to reduce swelling. Also, radiation can help with bone pain, caused by growth of leukemia cells in bone marrow.
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Radiation therapy is not a common treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
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With chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), you might have surgery to remove a swollen spleen, a procedure called a splenectomy. Your spleen is an organ near your stomach that is involved in the production of white blood cells and destruction of red blood cells. The goal is not to cure the CLL but to improve blood counts and symptoms.
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A surgeon performs a splenectomy in a hospital. Leading up to your surgery, your doctor will make sure that any infections you have are cleared up and that you have received any needed vaccinations. You will check into the hospital the day before your surgery. You'll meet with your surgeon and the doctor who will handle your anesthesia, called an anesthesiologist.
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You will probably remain in the hospital for less than a week after your surgery. During this time, and after you leave the hospital, you'll need to be very careful to avoid infection. In fact, you'll need to be careful about infections for the rest of your life. That's because your spleen is an organ that helps protect you against infection.
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The 5-year survival rate for leukemia varies, depending a number of factors including the subtype or phase of chronic lymphocytic leukemia you have.
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Researchers are always finding new treatment methods for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). People with CML now have more hope for survival than ever before.
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You may have just one type of treatment or a combination of different treatments for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Each type of treatment has a different goal. Here are some of the types of treatment and their goals for adults who have CML. They are listed from the most to least common.
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It helps to learn all you can about your disease and treatment choices so that you can take an active part in decisions about your medical care. Discuss these choices with your doctor, other healthcare professionals, and loved ones. Your doctor is the best person to answer your questions about treatment. Make sure you ask how the treatment will change your daily life, including your diet, and how you will look and feel during and after treatment. Ask how successful the treatment is expected to be, and what its risks and side effects may be.
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Targeted cancer therapies use drugs to destroy or slow the growth of leukemia cells. One benefit of these drugs is that they leave healthy cells alone. They do this by targeting a specific molecular change in a leukemia cell. The specific change is one that fuels the growth and spread of the leukemia. Because they spare healthy tissues, targeted therapies tend to cause fewer and less severe side effects than some other treatments. Gleevec (imatinib) is the targeted therapy used for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). It attacks cells that carry the Philadelphia chromosome.
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Most people with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) get targeted therapy. The most common form of this is Gleevec (imatinib).
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Before treatment starts, you meet with a medical oncologist. This is a doctor who specializes in treating cancer with drugs. The doctor talks with you about your treatment and explains what you might expect.
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The side effects that occur with Gleevec are usually mild. Side effects include the following problems, which are listed from the most to the least common.
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Some people may be nervous about trying a new treatment instead of going with an existing cancer treatment. However, Judy Orem--a chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patient since 1995--and many others aren't looking back.
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Stem cells are immature cells that are the "starter” cells for all types of tissues. When you have leukemia, a stem cell transplant helps your body make new healthy blood cells. It replaces the leukemia cells and stem cells that are killed during high-dose chemotherapy. Immune cells derived from the stem cells from a donor also help kill leukemia cells that may have survived the chemotherapy.
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You should know that stem cell transplants are controversial. Although they can cure you from chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), the benefit has to be weighed against the risks. And the risks may include dying of complications of the transplant. Your doctor may recommend a transplant, though, for these reasons.
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Stem cell transplants may be autologous, which means the stem cells come from your own body. Or they may be allogenic, which means the stem cells come from a donor. With CML, doctors prefer to use a donor for these 2 reasons.
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The early side effects of a stem cell transplant are from the high-dose chemotherapy and radiation, not the transplant. These should go away as you recover from the transplant. You may also experience a strange taste in your mouth from the preservative used to freeze the stem cells. These are some common side effects listed from most to least common.
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This treatment is also called immunotherapy. It uses substances made in a lab. These substances act like the ones your immune system makes. Before the targeted therapy drug Gleevec (imatinib) was used, this was the first treatment choice for CML.
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Your doctor may recommend interferon therapy. It is used to treat chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in the chronic phase.
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If you take interferon therapy, you will get it for a long time. It's common to take it for more than 3 to 5 years. You'll most likely get a daily injection under your skin. You can get this as an outpatient at a hospital, clinic, or doctor's office, or you may give it to yourself.
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Some people may need to quit biologic treatment early because of side effects. However, with proper management, most people can tolerate this treatment. Side effects usually go away shortly after treatment ends.
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Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. This treatment is not used much for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The reason is because chemotherapy is seldom successful in eliminating the cells that have the Philadelphia chromosome, which almost all people with CML have in their leukemia cells. But chemotherapy can often control the white-blood-cell count.
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Chemotherapy is no longer the preferred treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However, your doctor may recommend it if any of these cases applies to you.
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Chemotherapy is not a standard treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). If you get it, you meet with a medical oncologist before treatment starts. This doctor specializes in treating cancer with drugs. The doctor talks with you about your treatment and what you might expect.
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Side effects of chemotherapy are different for everyone and vary based on the drugs you receive. The side effects usually end when the treatment ends. Below is a list of common side effects that come with chemotherapy for CML. Ask your doctor or nurse which ones are most likely for you.
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Radiation therapy uses X-rays or another source to kill cancer cells. It is rarely used to treat chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). It may be used to ease symptoms, such as pain or pressure on organs.
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Radiation therapy is not common for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).Your doctor may recommend it for these reasons.
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Radiation is not a common treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). When you do get it for CML, you get radiation directed at you from a machine. This is called external radiation.
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Because radiation affects normal cells as well as leukemia cells, you may have some side effects from this treatment. Their severity depends upon the dose, frequency, and location of the treatments. Many people have no side effects at all. If you do have them, your doctor may change the dose of your radiation. Or the doctor may stop treatment until the side effects are cleared up. So be sure you keep your doctor informed about the side effects you have. If you are having radiation directed to a specific part of your body, the side effects are usually mild. Usually side effects get better and go away when the treatment ends.
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In very rare cases, you might have surgery to remove a swollen spleen. The procedure is called a splenectomy. The goal is not to cure the chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), but to improve symptoms.
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It is very rare to have surgery for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Your doctor may recommend surgery to take out your spleen (splenectomy) if you have one or both of these problems.
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A surgeon performs a splenectomy in a hospital. Leading up to your surgery, your doctor makes sure that any infections you have are cleared up and that you have received any needed vaccinations. You check into the hospital the day before your surgery. You meet with your surgeon and the doctor who is handling your anesthesia, called an anesthesiologist.
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You are probably going to stay in the hospital for a few days after surgery. During this time, and after you leave the hospital, you need to be very careful to avoid infection. That's because your spleen is an organ that helps protect you from infection.
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The 5-year survival rate for leukemia varies depending on the subtype or phase of leukemia you have. According to the American Cancer Society, these are the facts about leukemia and CML.
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Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a rare, slow-growing cancer of the blood that affects 4,000 to 5,000 people in the United States every year. The average age of someone with CML is 66. CML is also known as chronic myelogenous leukemia or chronic granulocytic leukemia.
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Leukemia can be treated. Your treatment depends on all these things. The type of leukemia you have
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Your doctor will choose from these treatments depending on the type and phase of leukemia you have.
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Chemotherapy is the use of anticancer drugs. Some of these drugs can kill leukemia cells. Or they can slow their growth. A big benefit of chemotherapy is that it is systemic. That means the drugs travel all through your body.
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Your doctor has several options for how to give you these chemotherapy drugs. Intravenous (IV) injection or drip. You may receive an injection into a vein by an IV drip. In that case, medicine in a bag drips through a tube into your vein. It goes through a needle that's taped to your skin.
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Side effects of chemotherapy depend upon the type and amount of drugs you take. They vary from person to person. Here's a list of side effects you may have with this treatment. Talk with your doctor or nurse about which might be most likely to happen to you.
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This treatment uses strong X-rays to kill leukemia cells. For leukemia, this treatment is most often used after a hematopoietic stem cell transplant. It may also be used to help control pain. In the rare cases that leukemia causes a tumor, radiation may be used to shrink it. A radiation oncologist sets your treatment plan. The plan details what kind of radiation you'll have and how long the treatment will last. This doctor can also tell you how you may feel during and after the treatment.
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Once your radiation oncologist has mapped out your treatment plan, a radiation therapist treats you. There are a few ways to do that.
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Radiation therapy can help you in your fight against cancer. To feel better, get plenty of rest, exercise, and eat well. This will give your body the extra strength it needs right now. Also, look to family and friends for support and comfort.
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Radiation affects normal cells as well as cancer cells. It may cause side effects. They depend on how much radiation you get and where you get it. Here's a list of common side effects people with leukemia may have after radiation. Ask your doctor or nurse which ones you are most likely to have.
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Targeted therapy is a new type of treatment for some types of leukemia. It's designed to "see” a certain change in a cancer cell. This is a change that makes the cancer grow, divide, repair, or "talk” with other cells. These new drugs attack only cancer cells. They destroy or slow the growth of cancer cells. But they avoid normal, healthy cells. That means this treatment tends to cause fewer and less severe side effects than other kinds of treatment. These 3 main types of targeted therapy can treat leukemia.
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All anticancer drugs target tumors in some way. Most conventional treatments, however, attack healthy cells as well as cancer cells. As a result, there can be serious side effects from the treatment. A new approach to cancer treatment may help reduce side effects. The new treatment is called molecularly targeted therapy. It takes a more direct aim at cancer cells. And that means less damage to healthy cells.
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How you get targeted therapy depends on the kind you get. You get monoclonal therapy by intravenous (IV) needle or under the skin 3 times a week. You won't need to stay in a hospital overnight. How long each treatment lasts depends upon the dose you get. It also depends on whether you have any reactions to the treatment. If you get an IV, it may take about 2 hours. If you get an injection under the skin, it may take a few minutes.
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If you are having targeted therapy, your healthcare team will explain its side effects and help you manage them.
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A stem cell transplant for leukemia is specifically called a hematopoietic stem cell transplant. It's also simply called a blood and bone marrow transplant.
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Stem cells may come from your own body or from a donor. A donor is someone whose tissue is a close match to yours. If the cells come from you, the transplant is called autologous. If they come from a donor, the transplant is called allogeneic. If you're using your own cells, they are removed before you have chemotherapy or radiation treatment and are stored until needed. Then the doctor puts them back into your body through a transfusion. There, they migrate or go to the bone marrow, where they begin to multiply.
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You and your doctor will talk all about stem cell transplants and their side effects before you have it done. After this treatment, you will have a weakened immune system. That makes you are at greater risk for infection and other serious side effects. You must stay in the hospital for several weeks. You may also need to be in isolation after being in the hospital until your white blood cell counts start returning to normal. During this time, your stem cells are making new white blood cells. Here are some common side effects you can expect. Many of these are from chemotherapy or radiation treatments and will go away after treatment ends.
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Biologic therapy is a type of treatment that works with your immune system. It is not used for all types of leukemia. It is used for CML. In that case, the drug is Interferon. The goal of this type of treatment is to control symptoms, which is called remission.
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Surgery can do little to treat leukemia. For chronic leukemia, though, it is helpful in some cases. Your doctor may remove your spleen if it is swollen and pressing against other organs. Your spleen is an organ near your stomach. It helps produce white blood cells and destroy red blood cells. Another reason you may have your spleen removed is to raise levels of certain blood cells. That's because a swollen spleen can start removing too many of them from your blood.
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A clinical trial is when a new treatment is tested. It tests treatments that may work better or cause fewer problems than current treatments. A clinical trial may give you a chance to get a new treatment not yet available to the public.
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You may have heard a lot about alternative or complementary care. These are a group of practices and products that are not yet thought of as a part of standard medicine.
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