Maybe your parents are now plagued by a thought: whether they feed you, how often do lead to the doctor, and many other issues. But they have nothing to do with leukemia (it is another name for leukemia). You and your parents need to know one: no one to blame for You are sick LEUKEMIA.

He was interested in whether you already arranged as your body? Well, my head. Two arms, two legs. Stomach. And the fact that in the stomach. And what else?

Can you imagine a big city without a road? Unable to get time in school or at work, all late in the cinema or on dates, no items in the stores, pharmacies - drugs do not come on tour artists do not receive athletic competitions, etc. etc. Life in the city freezes. Knowingly transport routes are called "blood-cities.

So in your body are a very important role played by blood. A leukemia directly associated with blood. Blood - not just red water is, as something special in its own way, even outstanding! Blood - not a homogeneous mass, it consists of many small particles, which are called cells or formed elements of blood. Want to know what are they? To do this, a little drip of blood on a thin glass plate and look at it under a microscope.

The smallest of these particles called platelets. They - as a plumber in blood vessels. When the body appears the wound and the blood begins to flow, platelets become sticky masses and are buried flow, like a sticking plaster to form a crust on the wound. If the person has too few platelets (thrombocytes), the blood continues for a long time to go, but after hitting the formation of large bruises under the skin as the blood is incident. One reason for the lack of blood platelets may be leukemia.

In red blood stain erythrocytes (red blood cells). This - trucks that transport is a very important cargo - the oxygen. They pick up oxygen from the lungs and carry throughout the body, all organs. A red color makes them hemoglobin, the substance, to which cling to the oxygen atoms. The more hemoglobin, the more oxygen will get the body. And what happens if there be a shortage of trucks? The remaining will be constantly overloaded muscles and the brain can not work without oxygen, a person feels weak and tired. One reason for the low number of red blood cells may be leukemia. If you now look at your blood under a microscope, it will be enough red blood cells.


Largest blood cells - leukocytes, or white blood cells. They - the police of the body. Among the various leukocytes are two types - granulocytes and lymphocytes. When humans get infectious microbes and they begin to behave disgracefully, to combat these hooligans rush granulocytes. Only they did not arrest the troublemakers, and ... eat them. Granulocytes is harmful, with the destruction of microbes, they die. But that is their problem: they must cure the incipient inflammation.

Lymphocytes also belong to the militia of the body, but they are far away. They organize the sending of the order against microbes. Some of them have something like a computer search, in which information is stored as look different microbes. Other lymphocytes produce antibodies - special chemicals, which they attach to the microbe. Such a microbe with trailer "is recognizable granulocytes:" Aha! "Another offender! Immediately catch (and eat)!"

Lymphocytes pass blood cells and nutrients, but delays and eliminate germs. The role of the roadblocks is played by the lymph nodes, which are interconnected lymphatic channels.

No matter how well worked blood cells, eventually they grow old and die. Instead they are new. They are formed in the bones, in their very core - in the bone marrow.

None of the newborn person can not immediately start working. He must grow, learn, learn a profession. Similarly, newborn blood cells - they are all the same, as infants. In the bone marrow, they grow and learn of their future "work" become "professional" red cells, platelets, leukocytes. Divided into two new cells are only mature, fully "trained" cells.

But sometimes the cells are "going crazy". They begin to share with great speed, not having time to mature and learn. They disagree on a whole bone marrow, and when filling it, then go into the blood, unable to perform their duties. Together with the blood they fall into all corners of the body, but does not help the body, but underfoot, prevent others, smart cells to work normally and eat foods that are intended mature cells.

These crazy cells, which themselves do not know how to do and only hinder, are the cells of leukemia. They are called immature blood cells or Blast. When these cells are filled with bone marrow and spread throughout the body, it means that people became ill from leukemia.

Sami blasts do not do anything wrong, but are confused about everywhere underfoot. Suppose you come running home, a white rabbit. However, rabbits do it rarely, but still assume. And one rabbit in the house will not interfere specifically. The day will come running two more, then every day more than a week later the whole house would have to stumble on rabbits. Now this is a problem, right? Although rabbits anyone not doing anything wrong, but it is simply impossible to live quietly at home, because everywhere underfoot confused rabbits.

Ill and become "crazy" not all types of blood cells, but leukocytes. Hence the name of the disease - leukemia. Under a microscope can distinguish types of blasts. Most of these blasts are the cells that were to be lymphocytes. Why they are called lymphoblasts, and this type of leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia - ALL. But the blasts could be some cells that should become granulocytes. They are called myeloblasts, and disease - acute myeloblastic leukemia, or AML. Different types of leukemia and are treated differently.

Leukemia can get sick suddenly, and this is called "acute" form of leukemia, but the disease process can proceed very slowly, and then talk about "chronic" leukemia. Chronic leukemia in children is very rare.

On what grounds can define leukemia?

• When leukemia may include:
• increased fatigue and sleepiness;
• fever, colds, inflammation;
• bone pain;
• pale skin and pale lips;
• quickly appear bruises, many of them;
• a lot of little blue dots that looked like pinpricks;
• swollen lymph nodes;
• enlarged liver or enlarged spleen.

However, these symptoms may be and other diseases, so the definition of leukemia should conduct additional tests.

Over the past twenty years, doctors have become much better understanding of the nature of the disease. There is no mystery in how to treat leukemia. We will try in this book to explain it to you. And if you do not find the answer to this or that your question, feel free to ask it to others. Ask mom or dad, a doctor or nurse, other children - depending on mood. Main: Ask if you are interested. Do not be afraid! "Stupid" questions does not happen, because the one who asked who seek to know more, can not be stupid!