What are the symptoms of CML?
In the early stage, patients may only be diagnosed through routine blood tests that show an increase in white blood cells. In later stages, patients experience infections, bleeding, fever, chills, sweats, weakness, fatigue and headaches. What is different about CML? CML worsens as it progresses from the chronic phase to the accelerated phase and the final phase called the blast crisis. The three phases are characterized by steadily increasing numbers of abnormal cells within the bone marrow and by spread of abnormal cells to sites outside of the bone marrow. The three phases are: Chronic phase: This phase last for about 4 to 5 years. Initially, patients in this phase usually have minor symptoms and their cancer is usually detected by routine blood tests. Most patients receive Interferon therapy alone or with other drugs. Patients can also be treated with bone marrow transplants. Accelerated phase: This phase lasts from 6 to 18 months. The white blood cell count increases and the diseas
