LEUKEMIA SIGNS and SYMPTOMS

Signs and symptoms:Symptoms may include fatigue, paleness, weight loss, repeated infections, fever, bruising easily, and nosebleeds or other hemorrhages. In acute leukemia, these signs can appear suddenly. Chronic leukemia typically progresses slowly with few symptoms and is often diagnosed during routine blood tests. Patients with CLL may experience swollen lymph nodes or pain in the upper left abdomen due to an enlarged spleen.Deaths:An estimated 23,720 deaths are expected to occur in 2013. Death rates for leukemia have been declining for the past several decades; from 2005 to 2009, rates decreased by 0.8% per year among males and by 1.4% per year among females. source: American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2013. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2013.