Skip to main content

Leukemia

Leukemia is a type of cancer that happens when cells in your bone marrow become leukemia cells. Over time, these cells crowd out the healthy blood cells in your blood, bone marrow, and other tissues.

There are four main types of leukemia: acute lymphoblastic (ALL), acute myeloid (AML), chronic lymphocytic (CLL), and chronic myeloid (CML). The acute types can get worse quickly and need to be treated right away. The chronic types get worse slowly and may not need to be treated until you have symptoms.

Current as of: October 25, 2023

Author: Ignite Healthwise, LLC Staff

Clinical Review Board
All Healthwise education is reviewed by a team that includes physicians, nurses, advanced practitioners, registered dieticians, and other healthcare professionals.

 
 

PeaceHealth endeavors to provide comprehensive health care information, however some topics in this database describe services and procedures not offered by our providers or within our facilities because they do not comply with, nor are they condoned by, the ethics policies of our organization.