What Is Chronic Leukemia?
Leukemia is cancer that starts in blood-forming tissue and causes large numbers of blood cells to be produced and enter the bloodstream. Each year, about 29,000 adults and 2,000 children in the United States are diagnosed with leukemia. Leukemia is either chronic (gets worse slowly) or acute (gets worse quickly). In early stages of chronic leukemia, the abnormal blood cells can still do their work, and people with chronic leukemia may not have any symptoms of the cancer. However, as the cancer slowly progresses, symptoms of chronic leukemia will appear as the number of leukemia cells in the blood rises.
