Treatments for Leukemia

September 28, 2021 Off By Naomi Sammie

Doctors have the experience and knowledge to find leukemia by performing routine blood tests long before the symptoms start to manifest. If such a case happens or if you already have the symptoms or showing signs of it, then the doctor might advise you to stop any drug or supplement you are taking from steroids Canada, vitamins and whatnot. They might also request you to undergo diagnostic exams.

What exams would be Performed?

As mentioned, your doctor will be requiring to perform series of exams to come up with the best treatment plan. Some of these exams may be anything from the following:

Physical Exam

In here, what your doctor is going to check are for physical signs of leukemia like:

  • Pale skin from anemia
  • Enlargement of spleen and liver
  • Swelling of lymph nodes

Blood Tests

By taking a look at your blood sample, it will be enough for your doctor to determine if you have abnormal levels in your white or red blood cells or platelets, which could indicate leukemia. A blood test can also show the presence of leukemia cells. However, you should know that not all kinds of leukemia is causing the leukemia cells in circulating the blood. There are times in which leukemia cells might stay in bone marrow.

Bone Marrow Test

Your doctor might also suggest a procedure that will remove a sample of bone marrow. The bone marrow is then removed by using a long and thin needle. The sample is then sent to a lab to do further tests for presence of leukemia cells.

These tests are specialized to reveal characteristics of leukemia cells that will then be used in determining the best treatment options.

Treatment of Leukemia

Keep in mind that the treatment procedure for leukemia would be dictated by a number of different factors. Your doctor will be determining your options for leukemia treatment based on overall health and age, type of leukemia that you have and whether it began spreading in several parts of your body. Based on the assessment, the following treatments may be offered:

  • Chemotherapy – this is a major treatment for leukemia. This treatment is using chemicals that are focused on killing leukemia cells.
  • Targeted therapy – the targeted drug treatments are concentrated on specific abnormalities that are present within the cancer cells. By being able to block abnormalities, targeted drug treatments might cause the cancer cells to eventually die.