Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)
Hello, my name is Megan and I am a
nursing student at the University of Washington. Throughout this blog I will be focusing on
acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Let’s begin with the basics….
What exactly is cancer? Cancer is defined as a group of
diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the ability to invade and spread
through out the body.
How is acute lymphoblastic leukemia
different from other cancers? This type of cancer is specific to the bone marrow and the
blood. This cancer primarily targets
young children, accounting for almost 6,000 new cases every year.
Exploring the bone marrow: In healthy children, the bone marrow
makes immature blood cells that turn into mature blood cells over time. A blood
stem cell can then become either a blood cell or a lymphoid cell. In children with ALL, to many blood stem
cells become lymphoid cells. They don’t
act like normal lymphoid cells and are not able to fight infection. The increased number of these abnormal cells
makes less room for functional, healthy cells.
Here is a
picture to illustrate the anatomy of a bone and its three main features: spongy
bone, compact bone, and bone marrow. The
bone is made up of spongy bone that is primarily found in the far ends of the
bone, the red bone marrow is stored here.
The compact bone makes up the majority of bone in the shaft; the yellow
bone marrow is stored here.
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This image shows the division from
the blood stem cell. It either divides
into myeloid cell that further breaks down to red blood cells, platelets, and
white blood cells or into lymphoid cell.
In children with ALL, the lymphoid cells continue to divide more rapidly
making, this limits the number of myeloid cells. In the body balance is everything!
Works Sited:
Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Treatment (PDQ®). (2015, March
15). Retrieved March 21, 2015, from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/childALL/Patient/page1
Leukemia Symptoms, Causes, Treatment - What are the types of leukemia? -
MedicineNet. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2015, from
http://www.medicinenet.com/leukemia/page3.htm
Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia . (n.d.). Retrieved March 21,
2015, from http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/990113-overview
