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Leukemia

Definition

Leukemia is cancer of the blood cells. It starts in the bone marrow, the soft tissue inside most bones. Bone marrow is where blood cells are made.

When you are healthy, your bone marrow makes:

• White blood cells, which help your body fight infection.
• Red blood cells, which carry oxygen to all parts of your body.
• Platelets, which help your blood clot.

When you have leukemia, the bone marrow starts to make a lot of abnormal white blood cells, called leukemia cells. They don't do the work of normal white blood cells, they grow faster than normal cells, and they don't stop growing when they should.

Learn more on the University of Michigan Healthwise Knowledgebase Leukemia web page.

There are four common types of leukemia:

Getting Diagnosed / Treatment

Leukemia is treated at the U-M Cancer Center in the Adult Hematology Clinic.

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