[toc]Leukemia is a form of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow of the human body. It is characterized by increasing abnormal growths of white blood cells in the blood. It can affect the blood, bone marrow, and lymphoid system and cause many further problems in proper functioning of the body.
Individuals with leukemia will have abnormal function where the bone marrow starts to make a lot of abnormal white blood cells which are also called leukemia cells. They do not do the work of normal white blood cells and they grow faster than normal cells.Leukemia is a disease that can be easily treated.
The treatments that one can use involve chemotherapy, medical radiation, treatments of hormones, or transplant of the bone marrow. The cure speed depends on the type of leukemia as well as the age of the patient. But it is advisable to prevent the disease than depend on medication and treatments to cure it. The longer the disease stays in the body the longer it takes to cure it. One should be aware of the chances of him or her getting the disease and stop it at the earliest stage only. There are various prevention factors than can be kept in mind to reduce the risk of leukemia.
Various Preventions For Leukemia
Smoking Should Be Stopped
Smoking has carcinogenic materials that can cause or increase cancer cells in the body. It has to be stopped by individuals who want to prevent any type of cancer from happening to them.
Smoking is harmful for the body because of the amount of toxin it contains. Active smoking as well as passive smoking by young and old has bad affects and can lead to cancer as well as leukemia.
People who do not smoke should also avoid going to places where there are other people smoking and ones who smoke should reduce smoking and then slowly stop it. If required they may have to go to rehabilitation centers that help individuals to quit smoking completely. This is more important for people who are chain smokers and cannot control the number of smoke they do every day.
Avoid Radiation
Another prevention that can be followed by individuals to avoid the risk of leukemia is reducing exposure to high level radiation. Exposure to the chemical benzene or high doses of radiation increases the chances of occurence of this disease.
Environmental exposing to radiation are generally at a low dose and may increase your risk of developing leukemia. Thus should be avoided as much as possible. High dose radiation is given to cancer patients to treat cancer and cannot be avoided also.
Individuals having other form of cancer should not avoid radiation therapy because this is the best way to cure it. The risk of getting back cancer cells after radiation therapy in cancer patients is very low.
Improve Your Immune System
Good immune system is automatically prevention of leukemia. Poor immune system can cause leukemia or any other form of cancer because they put people at greater risk for cancer because of the body’s decreased ability to resist foreign cells. There is a possibility that patients treated for other types of cancer with some types of chemotherapy and/or high-dose radiation therapy may later develop leukemia.
So it is especially important for individuals who have undergone cancer treatment for any other form of cancer to improve their health by taking very good care of themselves and improve immunity with good diet and frequent exercise. Special post care of cancer patients are taken to improve health conditions and preventing leukemia from affecting them because of radiation exposure.
Eat Balanced Diet
Leukemia does not occur to people who are internally strong and to be internally strong one must include healthy diet. This is only possible if one consciously takes care of it by including balanced diet of all types of food items like whole cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables.
Milk and milk products are also important. Leukemia is caused because of excess white blood cells and low red blood cells. RBC should be in required range always that can be achieved by eating right food and having a good digestion system. Including nuts and seeds in small quantity can also prevent leukemia.
Avoid Down Syndrome
It is known people having Down syndrome are more susceptible to leukemia. Thus if you prevent Down syndrome you are able to reduce leukemia chances. A baby having Down syndrome should be avoided by consulting doctor and checking genetic history.
A genetic counselor can help you understand your chances of having a child with this condition. They can also suggest the prenatal tests that are available and help you figure out the pros and cons of testing. This way if the child does not have Down syndrome there is reduced chance of leukemia developing in the child and also later on in life.
Get Regular Tests Done
It is important to be aware of the problem and its required tests. Also one needs to get the tests done regularly from reliable place to be sure about the body condition. Leukemia cannot be prevented but if detected on time can be well treated especially in children.
So, if you know your child is having higher risk of leukemia, regular related tests should be done to know the blood condition and treatment should be given accordingly. All types are to be done under the guidance of doctor and the reports should be shown to the doctor for better study of the progress and required treatment.
Exercise
Lastly everybody should include exercise in their daily routine to prevent all types of cancer. Exercise improves body function, utilizes energy and improves immunity leading to making the body strong and less prone to diseases. Young children should be allowed to play in open air and taught to breathe properly.
They should also be allowed to play some sort of sport to improve their body capacity to fight diseases. Exercise and diet are important prevention points for all diseases along with other genetic factors. If one is healthy and fit no disease can affect them and the treatment is also more effective if required.
