How long can you have acute leukemia without knowing?

How long can you have acute leukemia without knowing?

The white cells in the blood grow very quickly, over a matter of days to weeks. Sometimes a patient with acute leukemia has no symptoms or has normal blood work even a few weeks or months before the diagnosis. The change can be quite dramatic.

What can trigger acute leukemia?

Factors that may increase your risk of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) include:

• Increasing age. The risk of acute myelogenous leukemia increases with age.
• Your sex.
• Previous cancer treatment.
• Exposure to radiation.
• Dangerous chemical exposure.
• Smoking.
• Other blood disorders.
• Genetic disorders.

Does acute leukemia come on suddenly?

Acute leukemia may cause signs and symptoms that are similar to the flu. They come on suddenly within days or weeks. Chronic leukemia often causes only a few symptoms or none at all. Signs and symptoms usually develop gradually.

Is acute leukemia curable?

Although AML is a serious disease, it is treatable and often curable with chemotherapy with or without a bone marrow/stem cell transplant (see the Types of Treatment section). It is important to remember that statistics on the survival rates for people with AML are an estimate.

How serious is acute leukemia?

Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is also called acute lymphoblastic leukemia. “Acute” means that the leukemia can progress quickly, and if not treated, would probably be fatal within a few months. “Lymphocytic” means it develops from early (immature) forms of lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell.

What is the survival rate of leukemia?

The 5-year relative survival rate for all types of leukemia is 65 percent, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) . Not considering age, new leukemia rates haven’t changed much since 2019. Death rates have fallen by almost 2 percent every year since 2009.

Can you be cured from acute leukemia?

Although AML is a serious disease, it is treatable and often curable with chemotherapy with or without a bone marrow/stem cell transplant (see the Types of Treatment section).