Patient's Query
Hi doctor,
I am in my early twenties. I am concerned that I have leukemia. I have a bruise under my foot that I noticed yesterday. I walk barefoot in the garden, and I remember stepping on a stone, which was painful, so it could be a bruise from that. The biggest thing that concerns me is that I have petechiae on my arm. It looks like a phlebotomy bruise. It is just one, not a rash. I have recently had laboratory tests done. I had a normal CBC five months ago, but I read online that for AML, one could have normal blood levels for up to a week before being diagnosed. I also have a history of severe anxiety, panic disorder, and PTSD. I take 10 mg of the tablet Escitalopram daily. No other health history is present.
Kindly guide.
Hi,
Welcome to icliniq.com.
Most of the skin lesions seem either traumatic or due to compression. There are no petechiae, but bruises. Females have a greater tendency to bruise than males, normally. CBC (complete blood count) shows a normal pattern, except for your hemoglobin, which is on the borderline. Build up your micronutrients such as vitamin B12, Folic Acid, pyridoxine, vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, calcium, zinc, phosphate, and iron levels by oral pills.
The word 'leukemia' means white blood cell cancer in peripheral blood. Leukemia is a relatively old term. Nowadays, it is called a 'hematopoietic and lymphoid' neoplasm. A good share of circulating white blood cells comes from lymphoid tissues such as lymph nodes, spleen, thymus, etc. And the rest of the cells come from bone marrow. Lymphoid tissue is present all over the body, even in the intestines, lungs, liver, etc. The neoplasms of lymphocytes, white blood cells, are called lymphomas, which are rarely present in the blood. They are present in lymphoid tissue. However, they do infiltrate blood and bone marrow at some later stages (stage 4 disease). Now, there are certain neoplasms arising from bone marrow. They are myeloid leukemia or lymphoid leukemias. They are most of the time present in peripheral blood. In addition, leukemia and lymphoma are not merely the presence of certain types of abnormal cells. It is a whole package, comprising anemia, leukopenia or leukocytosis, high ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate), thrombocytopenia, unexplained fever, weight loss, arthralgias and myalgias, bone pain, etc. These are diagnosed using bone marrow biopsy, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, radiological surveying, etc. These are treated with chemotherapies, selected according to the type of cells involved in lesions.
I hope this helps.
Thank you.
Patient's Query
Hi doctor,
Thank you for your response. So, in your opinion, this would not be a concern for leukemia?
Same symptoms don't mean you have the same problem. Consult a doctor now!
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