Do you think there is a chance I have leukemia?
May 9th, 2011Question: Lately I have been really tired, I have unexplained bruising all over my legs, my gums are really swolen, my lymphnoids are swollen, my skin is really dry, and my joints ache occasionally. I also have a hard time breathing sometimes. I am really worried, but recently I went to the doctor and he said my WBC was on the higher end of normal. I am worried that I could have leukemia.
Answer: DON’T PANIC!!! An elevated white blood cell count is one indicator of leukemia, but it’s also a prime indicator of someone whose system is fighting off a bacterial infection. There are numerous other illnesses that give the same or similar symptoms to the ones you listed, and many of them are easily cured by antibiotics.
Your chances of having leukemia are very slim, but even if you’re one of the few, rare individuals who have leukemia, it’s not a death sentence anymore. I went through high school with two kids who had leukemia (a guy and a girl), and guess what? I saw both of them at my 20-year class reunion two years ago, and they were fine. They were both married, they both had children (none of which had leukemia — yes, they had all their kids tested), and they were both in good health.
BOTTOM LINE: Yes, there is a chance you have leukemia, but it’s VERY small. Give the doctors a chance to run some tests. I’m betting they’ll find out you have a nasty bacterial infection and put you on high-power antibiotics like azythromycin.