Leukemia Symptoms

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Leukemia Symptom - Excessive bruising
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Signs and Symptoms

The first indications of leukemia are often vague and nonspecific. They may occur with other cancerous as well as noncancerous disorders. Although signs and symptoms vary for each type of leukemia, there are some general features. Broad symptoms of leukemia may include:

* Fatigue
* Malaise (this is usually described as a vague feeling of bodily discomfort)
* Abnormal bleeding
* Excessive bruising
* Weakness
* Reduced exercise tolerance
* Weight loss
* Bone or joint pain
* Infection and fever
* Abdominal pain or "fullness"
* Enlarged spleen, lymph nodes, and liver

Chronic leukemia often goes undetected for many years until it is identified in a routine blood test. Roughly one in five chronic leukemia patients have no symptoms at the time of their diagnosis. Most symptoms of acute leukemia are caused by a lack of normal blood cells. This is due to overcrowding of the blood-forming bone marrow by leukemia cells.

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