Questions about CML What is CML?
Leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood and the bone marrow (the inner part of bones where blood cells are made). With leukaemia, 2 things happen. First, certain blood cells become abnormal. Second, the body keeps producing large numbers of these abnormal cells. CML is one type of leukaemia. “Chronic” means that it is a slow-acting cancer that may take years to progress. “Myeloid” means that the type of abnormal blood cell being overproduced is a type of white blood cell called a myeloid cell. So, chronic myeloid leukaemia is a slow-acting cancer that makes the body produce an excess of cancerous myeloid white blood cells. There are 3 phases of CML: the chronic phase, the accelerated phase, and the blast crisis phase. As patients move through these phases, their disease progresses, and they experience more physical symptoms.
