What is leukemia?
Leukemia is a malignant cancer of the blood in which one’s bone marrow produces white blood cells in excess in association with gene mutations.
leukemia: white blood cells (dark purple) produced in excess
Causes of leukemia
Genetic predisposition (family history, people with Down syndrome have higher tendency to get leukemia)
Artificial ionizing radiation
Chemicals (eg benzene and other petrochemicals)
Viruses, e.g. HIV (Human Immunodeficiency virus or HTLV-1 (human T-lymphotropic virus) Continue reading