Leukemia
Leukemia is a cancer that attacks a person’s blood cells, particularly in the bone marrow. It grows the white blood cells and divides them rapidly within a course of time (ranging from weeks to months, or a couple of years, depending on the type of leukemia a person develops). It can be hereditary or acquired through genetic and environmental factors, causing an abnormal white blood cell mutation in the bone marrow. Because leukemia targets bone marrows, it leads to excessive bone pain when cancer cells become sporadic and overcrowded. Most of the time, bone pains due to leukemia are found in the spinal cord, arms, and thighs and may also affect some joints.
High-grade cancer cells in the bone marrow can move quickly and spread around the body when it enters the bloodstream. It can even infect other body parts, including the lymph nodes (which in rare cases can metastasize into lymphoma—cancer in the lymphatic system), the liver, the spleen, and the central nervous system. Leukemia is treatable in the earliest stage but can be fatal when undetected or left untreated.
