This leukaemia overview and associated articles will give you everything you need to know to help you increase your personal odds of beating leukaemia - the symptoms, the diagnosis and all the latest options on treatments and therapies - from cancer drugs and chemotherapy to surgery, radiotherapy and complementary therapies; including all the very latest alternative and new therapies and information. We will even cover the causes.

This article has been compiled by Chris Woollams from worldwide research and expert sources*

Read the whole article below or just select the part(s) that you are interested in from the list below and click onto that piece.

• What is Leukaemia? 
• White blood cells 
• Types of white cells 
• Leukopenia 
• Types of Leukaemia 
• The origin of blood cells and leukaemia 
• The causes of leukaemia  
• Symptoms 
• Diagnosis 
• Treatments 
• Build your total Programme with CANCERactive 
• Confused by it all?? 

Leukaemia

The all over body disease that demands an all over body treatment.

What is Leukaemia?

Leukaemia is a form of cancer that starts in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow.  It is not a single cancer, more a number of individual but related cancers.  All involve an over-production of white blood cells and, for example in the blood stream, this suppresses levels of red blood cells and blood platelets. Since red blood cells carry essential oxygen to the tissues of the body and platelets are primarily concerned with blood clotting, you can start to see the effects leukaemia can have on the whole body.

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White blood cells

Also called leukocytes, these are the cells of the immune system, which defend the body against all manner of invaders - from toxins to viruses, to yeasts to bacteria, to cancer cells. These white cells are found throughout the body, and in the blood and the lymph.  The lymph is a colourless liquid with twice the volume of the blood and its job is to take toxins away from the cells and out into the blood to be excreted from the body.

Leukocytes make up about 1 per cent of the total volume of the blood under normal conditions.  In conditions such as leukaemia the numbers are raised; in conditions such as leukopenia they are diminished.

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Types of white cells

While the job of red blood cells is to take oxygen from the lungs to the tissues of the body, and the job of platelets is to control bleeding, white blood cells are more complex.

Their overall job is to help fight infections and defend the body, but there are five different types of cells.

Lymphocytes these come in several forms: T- cells are the bodys policemen, identifying the bad guys for the B- cells to neutralise.  Natural killer (NK) cells kill the cells hiding viruses, bacteria or cancers.

Neutrophils respond to chemicals produced by invaders and dead cells and move towards them and digest them. (Phagocytosis).

Lymphocytes and neutrophils make up 90 per cent of all the white cells.

Monocytes can attack rogue organisms within your cells, eosinophils respond to parasites and basophils respond to allergens (like pollen).

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Leukopenia

This disease is the opposite of leukaemia in that there are too few white cells.  When the white cell count is low it puts the patient at great risk of infection.

White cell count may be low due to:

• medications such as clozapine, an anti-psychotic
• immunosuppressive drugs
• chemotherapy or, to a lesser extent, radiotherapy
• a lack of beneficial bacteria (see later)

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Types of Leukaemia

There are both acute and chronic forms of leukaemia, each with sub-types, which respond to different treatments.  In addition there are child leukaemias, which in turn demand slightly different specialist therapies.

The main types of leukaemia are:

• Chronic Myeloid (CML)
• Acute Myeloid (AML)
• Chronic Lymphocytic (CLL)
• Acute Lymphoblastic (ALL)
• Hairy cell Leukaemia

In chronic leukaemia, the symptoms appear slowly over a long time and are often quiet for quite a period of time.

In acute leukaemia, the symptoms get worse quickly; and include nausea, confusion, seizures and loss of muscle control.

Build an Integrated therapy programme to maximise your personal odds and chances of survival.

Cancer development is a complex multi-step process, and there is no single magic bullet for its treatment nor will there ever be. Having said that, there is much you can do to build a total treatment programme, using the best of orthodox, complementary and even alternative therapies.

If you find all your doctors terminology difficult to understand click on this link Doctorspeak  where we turn it all into simple, easy-to-understand language. If you want a really good, easy-to-use cancer book, look no further than the UKs Best Seller  Everything you need to know to help you beat cancer, written at the request of doctors by Chris Woollams when he was helping his daughter survive nearly 8 times longer than officially predicted. It really has made a big difference to quite a number of people.

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The origin of blood cells and leukaemia

95 per cent of blood cells, white and red, are formed in the bone marrow.  They are formed from stem cells, which are blank precursor cells that could become any cell the body ultimately needs (eye cells, stomach lining cells liver cells etc).

The spleen, liver and lymph nodes help regulate the production, differentiation, control and ultimate destruction of blood cells and all are important organs in leukaemia. 

According to research from the Max Delbreak Centre for Molecular Medicine the production of white cells is controlled by a number of gene regulators and these genes have to be copied accurately.  A factor (protein) called c-Myb coordinates this regulation and may be damaged in leukaemia.

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The causes of leukaemia

N.B. As our readers know we believe that only very rarely does a single factor actually cause a cancer.  Some toxic factors can directly affect a cells DNA to produce a rogue cell, but usually these are mopped up by an effective immune system.  However a number of factors are known to reduce the effectiveness of the immune system like poor diet, EMFs and toxic chemicals.  We believe that where there is expert science linking risk and possible contributory factors, a precautionary principle should always be adopted. 

Clearly leukaemia is an all over disease of the body.  It is therefore of no surprise that the possible contributory factors are all over risks, and the best treatments are full body treatments. 

As an "all over" disease it is no surprise that full body treatment is needed

Possible contributory factors include:

1. The 2004 International Leukaemia Conference cited a number of studies on EMFs and leukaemia, particularly the possible effect of electricity cables and pylons.  Subsequently the  UK Government has urged that houses should not be now built within a certain distance (200 metres).
   Great Ormond Street Hospital has actually launched a study into EMFs and child leukaemia.  They are measuring levels in homes where the disease has occurred.  Another study reports that EMF levels can increase 5-10 fold after heavy rainfall.  (Cancer Watch 2006)
   In a study involving 29,083 children between 1962 and 1995 in England and Wales using matched equivalents, children living within 200 yards of power lines had a 70 per cent increased risk of leukaemia.  (Draper, Oxford. BMJ 2005; 330; 1290).  The study was the largest case-controlled study ever undertaken in the world.
2. Radiation from highly radioactive compounds: for example radioactive fallout is clearly dangerous (see also thyroid cancer).
3. Some patients, who have had chemotherapy treatment for a cancer, may develop leukaemia later in life (for example ALL).
4. Toxins and toxic chemicals have been implicated. For example ALL can be associated with toxins such as arsenic compounds, benzene, toluene and even the antibiotic chloramphenicol.  Toluene is an every day chemical commonly used for example in some nail polishes and some perfumed products.Italian researchers (European Journal of Oncology) have several times pointed an accusatory finger at aspartame.  They maintain that it can cause leukaemia, their studies involved female rats.  A review of the research by the European Food Safety Authority has however cleared this ambiguous sweetener.
5. Farmers have higher levels of blood cancers than the norm, and there have been research links to pesticides and herbicides.  Indeed when we were on Speaking Tour in Australia there were people with leukaemia living on golf courses with heavy chemical usage.  Certain childrens leukaemias have been linked to rose sprays, flea collars and even indoor insecticide use.Cancer Watch icon 2006 Issue 1 covers a research study by French doctor at INSERN, Using a matched sample of 550 children they studied insecticides used in a variety of products from household sprays to mosquito repellents, to flea collars and head lice treatments.  Their conclusions were that usage more than doubles risk of child leukaemia.  The offending ingredients appeared to be carbonates, which are present in UK products.  The report added that the incidence of child leukaemia had doubled in the last 26 years, and was now one-third of all child cancers. The French Institute of Health and Medical Research have reviewed 280 cases of child leukaemia and found a 4-fold increased risk in children who live near petrol stations.  The risk increases with time.  (Cancer Watch icon 2005 issue 1).
6. Hereditary factors.  It is not fully clear as yet but some types of leukaemia may have an hereditary link.

We print this list of possible contributory factors, not so that you dwell or worry about the past, but that you think what might be currently maintaining your cancer.  Are EMFs a factor; do you live under power cables? Have you been exposed to high levels of toxins, pesticides and sprays?  Fret not In many cases you can take action, as we will tell you, to try to clean up your whole body. 

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Symptoms

Leukaemia cells, like all white blood cells, travel throughout the body and so the systems can be varied depending upon where the cells collect, and in what excesses.

The most common systems include:

•  Fevers, sweats and night sweats
•  Tiredness, fatigue, and general weakness
•  Headaches
•  Joint pains
•  Frequent infections
•  Bleeding and bruising easily (bleeding gums, bruises, red patches under the skin)
•  Weight loss
•  Swollen lymph nodes (armpit, neck again)

None of these of its own is a clear sign, and only a doctor can really diagnose the condition.

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Diagnosis

There are several methods your doctor may use:

• Physical examination   swelling in lymph nodes, liver and spleen.
• Blood tests  checking for disturbances in levels of white cells, red cells and platelets.
• Bone marrow biopsy  marrow is removed from the hip or another large bone.  This is the only sure way to know if the problems really are leukaemia.The doctor may use a needle to obtain just marrow (an aspiration) or a much thicker needle to obtain marrow and bone.  A local anaesthetic will be used.
• X-ray - Used to look for signs of the disease in other parts of the body.
• CT scan -  Occasionally used, it is a series of all over body x-rays built up by computer to show possible problems in the whole body.
• Spinal tap -  Sometimes fluid may be taken from the spine, using a long thin needle and a local anaesthetic.

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Treatments

N.B. Specific orthodox treatments for the different sub-types of leukaemia will be found by clicking on the headings on the left hand side of this page. We strongly suggest you read this whole article before moving to you particular type of leukaemia, since this article will cover many more treatments and options than just orthodox ones.

Surgery -  This is hardly ever used in cases of leukaemia because it is an all over body disease.  It may be used if the spleen becomes so enlarged that it is pushing on other organs and causing problems.  When the spleen is removed there is a real danger of sepsis (infection in the blood or tissues) most usually by micro-organisms like pneumococci, staphylococci, E Coli meningococci.  Sometimes surgery will be used to install a large plastic tube to simplify giving medications and withdrawing blood samples.

Radiotherapy - Sometimes used if there are clear localised problems, although it has been known to be used as an all over treatment too.  Read our articles on Radiotherapy, particularly How to maximise the effectiveness if your radiotherapy (click).

Chemotherapy -  This is used frequently as an all over body treatment to kill cancer cells.  For information on your Cancer Drugs and chemotherapy click here.  Always ask for information on specific side effects.  Always ask for information on likely outcome and success rates.  The drugs offered would vary according to your state of health and they type of leukaemia you have. By clicking this link, you can also go to an important article entitled A Diet For Chemotherapy, invaluable as it offers you foods that can help your doctor fight the leukaemia.

NB. Some of the drugs need to be given in very high doses. You should obtain all possible information on side-effects, which can be very individual. Even newer drugs are not without their problems. Nature July 23, 2006 reports on a study, which suggests Gleevec may damage the heart muscle cells. And UCLA researchers led by Dr Charles Sawyers report that it only works for a while.  The cancer cells become resistant by changing the enzyme on which it works.  The researchers are working on a drug BM5 354825 (these drugs have such sexy names!) which can also tackle the mutated enzyme, but they dont know whether it is safe in humans yet).

Interferon -  Here is the aim to promote the immune systems fight against the leukaemia cells, and slow their production.  We have details of interferon and a Living Proof  written as a diary by someone who underwent a years treatment.

Stem Cell Transplants - Far more common in the USA than the UK this enables treatment with higher levels of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

 The biggest problem facing doctors is the need to use large doses of chemotherapy to have a real effect with the leukaemia.  However historically, chemo has been non-specific and killed all rapidly dividing cells.  Stem cell therapy aims to help top-up these damaged normal cells and allow higher dose chemo and radio to be used. However, The Lancet (August 4, 2005) reports that children benefit more from cell transplantation from a relative than they do from chemotherapy.  5-year survival rises from 40.6 per cent to 56.7 per cent.

Natural Therapies -  The very nature of leukaemia as an all over cancer demands an all over approach to your treatment. Frankly there is so much more you can do beyond just your doctors therapies which for certain types of leukaemia can be desperately limited in their success rates. On the left of this page you will see Living Proof if you click on that you will find stories of people who beat the disease using all manner of orthodox and complementary therapies. Cancers of the blood often find their origins in toxins and there is much you can do to detox your body using scientifically researched therapies.

You will find a great deal of Nutritional, complementary and Alternative support on this web site under the Treatments heading. Here we detail 4 issues that you really should think seriously about:

1. Is your Leukaemia really Leukaemia?

Yes, it does sound an absurd question, but upon examination it may well be that a percentage of leukaemias perhaps up to 25 per cent may not actually be leukaemia.

For example there is the case of the American Nurse:  We covered this true story in Cancer Watch under the heading of Can you catch leukaemia?

 up to 25 per cent may not actually be leukaemia

A fifty something American lady was diagnosed with leukaemia, had all the treatments and went into remission. Two years later she was told she had a tumour in her liver and needed more chemotherapy.  Seeking a second opinion she went to a Naturopath/Nutritionist who diagnosed that she had very bad yeasts and fungal infections in her blood.  (This can be quite common as a side effect of the orthodox leukaemia treatment). She went back to her oncologist and insisted on treatment.  (There is a combination of 3 drugs that doctors will use to help kill off such infections).  Her leukaemia and liver cancer went away completely.

But, she was actually a nurse in a child leukaemia ward and persuaded the oncologists there to give the kids the same anti-yeast drugs.  Approximately, 25 per cent of the children recovered. There are many American scientific experts who believe that the disease of Leukaemia and an overgrowth of fungi are inexorably linked. Some oncologists will tell you that yeasts and fungi are an effect of the drugs used to treat the leukaemia and there are many learned scientific research papers to show that after treatment some leukaemia patients have extremely bad fungal infections life threatening ones. However there is a growing band of experts who believe that these yeasts and fungi are the CAUSE, rather than the effect of leukaemia.

The Good, the bad and the ugly:

• Recently there has been an enormous flury of research on the role of beneficial bacteria  in our bodies. You really should read our article on the subject, and the links to cancer. The learning is moving so fast many oncologists are simply not aware of the facts. Over 4000 research studies and 100 clinical trials have shown that Beneficial Bacteria in the gut: 
•  

• stimulate and strengthen the immune system
•  help produce certain cancer fighting vitamins like B-12, folic acid and vitamin K
•  help produce short chain fatty acids which reduce harmful fat production (like cholesteroil)
•  can actually chelate to (bind to) heavy metals and help excrete them
•  can actually neutralise and eliminate harmful chemicals like oestrogen and nitrosamines

Click here and read our article "What is Cancer"

There are over 800 strains of bacteria in the gut about 400 have been identified and a dozen or so seem, according to the research so far, to have the greatest impact on our health. 60 or more years ago we would consume daily supplies of a number of strains but we no longer live on farms nor drink raw milk and, instead, we chlorinate our water, fill our chickens with antibiotics, irradiate our food and pasteurise everyuthing. Worse we take drugs, antibiotics and anaesthetics which deplete our stores further.
There is another school of thought that explains that these Beneficial Bacteria at night feed off the yeasts, microbes and non-beneficial bacteria we accidentally consumed during the day. Yeast infection is now endemic. It is estimated that under our Western conditions 70 per cent of the population has excess yeasts everday symptoms in men include bloating after meals, yellow toe nails and athletes foot; in women its thrush, cystitis, bad breath and/or bloating and problems trying to lose weight!.

You really must read Can Candida cause cancer?  on this web site and you really should consider following the diet recommended if you have leukaemia.

Consider this quote: Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy did not ultimately succumb to cancer, but to an infestation of Candida albicans. That comes from the 1993 Spring edition of the prestigious US medical journal Contemporary Oncology. Candida Albicans, a yeast, mutates into a fungal when it overgrows. My daughter (who had a glioma) in fact also had a fungal infection in her brain.

Topping up with probiotics (strains of beneficial bacteria shown in clinical trials to deliver a benefit) and following a prebiotic based diet lots of whole foods and whole grains with no sugar, dairy or alcohol and certain yeast killers will help defeat the Candida albicans. Its all in the article. The recent finding that women who take more than 25 lots of antibiotics in their lifetimes have twice the risk of breast cancer, is just one more factor pointing the finger at yeast infection and a lack of enough beneficial bacteria in the body.

Even if yeasts/fungi are not the actual cause of your cancer, given that the effect of leukaemia treatment can promote severe fungal/yeast infections surely it makes good sense for all leukaemia patients to think about using an anti-yeast, anti-fungal diet, whether they believe such yeasts to be cause or effect.

A typical anti-yeast diet would involve.

•  no dairy, no sugar, no alcohol
•  no yeast products (like marmite, mushrooms)
•  supplementation with cinnamon, oregano, Pan dArco, garlic, caprylic acid, wormwood supplementation with as many different strains of beneficial bacteria (Probiotics) as possible (Try Prebiota 7, Neways Advanced Probiotic and Yakult).

You have nothing to lose by going on this diet - and everything to gain. 

2. Natural Herbs and supplements

It has long been known that certain foodstuffs can act as blood purifiers, whilst others can boost the composition of the blood. 

For example, members of the onion family, onion and garlic, typically are good blood purifiers. 

Astragalus, a Chinese Herb has been the subject of a member of scientific studies, for example from Germany and the US.  The MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas extols its benefits.  It is known to boost the immune system and particularly T- cells. 

Echinacea similarly boosts immune and T- cell effect (and has direct effect in lives and brain tumours according to research). 

Goldenseal (which has a direct effect on some digestive infections), Baptisia, Galanga and Ginger all have immune boosting qualities.  For a better understanding of the role of diet see our whole section on diet .  We also have a book. The Tree of Life-An anti-cancer diet which will even give you a shopping trolley of foods that you can buy.  All leukaemia patients really should read the 4 Pillars of Cancer  particularly Pillars I (Diet) and II (Toxins).

Selenium  is a good anti-oxidant mineral and can displace heavy metals (especially mercury) from cells;

Chlorella   has a similar effect, is a natural food stuff, full of natural vitamins and binds to and eliminates toxins from the body. It also stimulates beneficial bacteria.

Dr Alan Hopking is one of the UKs leading experts on herbs and has prepared several articles  for us on the professional use of herbs in fighting cancer. (The drug Taxol was after all derived from a herb and herbs have many important anti-cancer properties)

When it comes to vitamins much is made about antioxidants like vitamin C, beta-carotene, and vitamin E. You can find the scientific reviews of these under Nutritionals on this site. However we prefer to recommend natural supplements like Chlorella (which includes beta-carotene and many essential amino acids, enzymes and minerals), or curcumin, or Total Vitamin E  containing all 4 tocotrienol forms and all 4 tocopherol forms. Japanese researchers have shown that alpha & delta tocotrionol vitamin E forms directly inhibit DNA polymerase, a factor in rapidly dividing cancer cells.  A second study showed that these forms of vitamin E could reduce spread of cancer in the body.  (foodnavigator.com March 2006).

Vitamin D has been the subject of extensive anti-cancer research.  If you cannot get regular doses of sunshine, you must supplement.  Vitamin K  has been shown to protect the liver from cancer and help in the detoxification you really should be contemplating.

Unsure of which vitamins to take, or whether they really are supported by science its all on this site. If you are looking for supplements click on the tab at the top of the page and go to the Natural Selection shop where they have selected the best of the best and you can buy with confidence.

3. Diet and other Complementary Therapies

Some people choose not to go through the ordeal of heavy does of chemotherapy and would rather treat their overall body disease with overall body therapies.

We have an extensive list of complementary therapies from acupuncture to Indian Head massage all in a kiddies guide  format for you to read and use.

However, here we are more concerned with Diet Therapies and their role in treating and beating cancers of the blood. One of our patrons, the late Oxford don Michael Gearin-Tosh treated his blood cancer (Multiple Myeloma) with the Gerson Therapy .  Given just 18 months to live even if he took the orthodox drugs, instead he went on this organic fruit and vegetable diet which seeks to return the body back to its natural healthy balance.  He lived 10 years before a non-related illness took his life.  You can read all about the Gerson Therapy and Michaels own Living Proof a Medical Mutiny by clicking this link.

Dr Gonzalez (click) in New York is arguably the Orthodox-approved Diet Therapy expert - he has a diet therapy with clinical trials overseen by FDA.  You will find reports and articles on this web site.

4. Your Liver

Your liver is the largest organ in the body and its primary function is the detoxification in the body.  Your blood is filtered by the liver. If you have cancer your liver fills up with dead cells, bacteria, yeasts, microbes, cancer chemotherapy drugs, other toxins and lactic acid produced by the cancer cells.  It is overworked, and toxic. It gets blocked. Worse, gallstones form, from cholesterol collecting around the outside of dead cells and bacteria.  It is likely that 99.9 per cent of cancer patients have gallstones - 3000 to 5000 tiny grains the size of sand blocking the bile ducts and preventing them properly excreting your toxins.  So the whole toxin removal and immune system jams up.

It is vital that you take the utmost care of your liver.

- Vitamin K and magnesium  help protect it. (40 per cent of people are deficient in magnesium; without beneficial bacteria you will not absorb vitamin K)
- Milk thistle, soya lecithin help strengthen it.
- A liver flush  can help clean it up. (Epsom salts, olive oil and fruit juice it sounds a bit extreme but it really does work and clear out the gallstones).

- Coffee enemas are part of the Gerson Therapy they do not cure cancer they dilate the bile ducts and help expel the toxins.  Boldo tea and dandelion will help

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Build your total Programme with Cancer Active

Research by the US magazine Integrative Cancer Therapies has shown the benefit of building an integrated programme of complementary therapies around your orthodox regime.

On this site you can find out about alternative options (and all the research) like Ultrasound (HIFU) instead of surgery, Photo Dynamic Therapy, the truth about vitamin B-17 and the Oasis of Hope, and even John of God.
 
Or click on the Home page tag at the top of this page to find a list of the ten hottest topics we have covered recently we promise one or two will definitely be relevant to you.
 
On this web site you will find more information about more treatment options (Complementary and Alternative, not just Orthodox), and on more possible contributory factors to the development and maintenance of your cancer, than on any other UK cancer web site. Some experts believe that approaching your cancer in this total way can increase an individuals chances of survival by as much as 60 per cent.
 
This is all supported by the very latest research evidence from all over the world in our news section Cancer Watch.
 
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