Some leukemia links

I am not a doctor. So I'll just leave it to the experts to discuss more on this. Here are the links to some reliable sites I visited:

(1) Leukemia-Adult Chronic, American Cancer Society

(http://www.cancer.org/docroot/cri/content/cri_2_4_3x_how_is_leukemia_diagnosed_62.asp)

(2) Leukemia, National Cancer Institute

(http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/leukemia)

(3) Leukemia Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical school

(http://www.bidmc.harvard.edu/YourHealth/TheraputicCenters/Leukemia.aspx)

(4) Health System, University of Virginia

(http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/UVAHealth/peds_hematology/leukemia.cfm) 

Is it hard to tell if one got leukemia?

I have just one very simple question that I want to know regarding this disease: Are there symptoms so specific to leukemia? I was thinking, had they known, their son might have been with them longer..An article from the American Cancer Society confirmed my guess. None.

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Qoute:

At least one-fifth of people with chronic leukemia have no symptoms at the time their cancer is diagnosed. Their cancer is diagnosed by blood tests performed during an evaluation some unrelated health problem or during a routine checkup. Even when symptoms are present, they are often vague and nonspecific. Most symptoms of chronic leukemia, such as weakness, fatigue, reduced exercise tolerance, weight loss, fever, bone pain and pain or a sense of "fullness" in the abdomen (especially after eating a small meal) can also occur with other cancers as well as many noncancerous conditions.

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"...occur with...many noncancerous conditions." How true. Too bad. The symptoms are so ordinary one would mistake it for just an ordinary pain. Silent killer. Leukemia deserves that name.

A family friend's son died of leukemia

He was supposed to graduate this school year under the degree of Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. But he died last month. He just complained of stomachache. The day he was brought to the hospital, the doctor told his parents he has to undergo operation. But when they checked his blood, they found out he has leukemia. When his parents asked for the cancer stage, the doctor replied there is no stage for his case. The cancer cells are spreading four times faster. He died after 9 days which makes it all the more painful to his family. Why so fast? How come they saw no signs when it was spreading in his body so quickly? What kind of cancer is this?