Leukemia is caused by abnormalities occurring in the blood-forming cells of the body. Leukemia can be chronic or acute, and the condition could occur in the myeloid cells or the lymphoid cells. There are several treatment options available for leukemia. The doctor recommends a particular treatment based on the type of leukemia. Some of them can be cured, and with some, the severity of the symptoms can be mitigated.

Treatments for leukemia 

Chemotherapy
There is a spectrum of medicines that are used for leukemia patients. Depending on the patient’s age and specific medication responses, the doctor comes up with a suitable chemotherapy plan. These are medicines that are ingested in a way to allow the medicine to pass into the bloodstream and target the affected cells. Chemotherapy is often recommended for acute leukemia. Sometimes, it is a targeted therapy method that helps by particularly focusing on specific traits of the cancer cells.

Stem cell transplant
For the cases where the cancerous growth has occurred in the bone marrow cells, stem cell therapies work. This is known to improve the chances of recovery faster. This is a therapy that is chosen in combination with other treatments for leukemia. A treatment method that addresses the abnormal cells combined with the transplant of healthy cells gives the desired results. This is also critical in preventing bone health from degrading due to the excessive spread of cancerous cells.

Radiation therapy
Leukemia cells are demolished with the use of radiation. There are radiations of high energy used to destroy the anomalous cells permanently. This helps in preventing metastasis. Slowing down the spread of cancer with radiation therapy is often considered as an accurate solution. The instant results that this method provides help in addressing the pain that is caused by lymph node enlargement. There are different types of radiation therapies like total body irradiation, total marrow irradiation, and external beam radiation therapy. Suitable radiation dosage is then chosen in these methods based on the existing damage. The recovery and side-effects of the treatment depend on the method of radiation therapy used.

Immunotherapy
Lymphocytes are blood cells that play a crucial role in the body’s immune system. When cancer growth affects lymphocytes, natural immunity often starts failing. Not addressing this leads to the patient acquiring secondary infections. In order to prevent the patient from succumbing to other illnesses, there are many leukemia cases where immunotherapy is recommended. These are designed to strengthen the natural immunity of the body. These are also used in combination with the other leukemia treatment options.

The suitable treatments for leukemia are chosen based on the progress of the condition and the secondary infections that prevail. The focus is always on stopping the cancer growth and alleviating the health implications that occur.