Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the blood cells. Your blood cells consist of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. In one suffering from leukemia, it is the white blood cells that are affected specifically.

There are various treatments that one can avail of for leukemia, and these depend on several factors.

Doctors will conduct various tests on your blood and bone marrow to determine the type of leukemia you suffer from, post which you will be given one of the following courses of treatment.

• Chemotherapy
  Chemotherapy is one of the most well-known therapies for cancer. In patients who have leukemia, the procedure makes use of chemicals to kill cancerous cells. Chemotherapy may be given intravenously or in the form of a tablet. A single medicine may be used or multiple medicines. This majorly depends on the type of leukemia.
• Radiation
  Radiation treatment is often administered to leukemia patients who need to go for further treatment via stem cell transplants. The radiation makes use of beams in order to kill the cancerous cells in the patient. The patient might be given radiation to a specific area of the body that is impacted by leukemia or they may be given radiation through the whole body.
• Stem cell transplant
  In leukemia patients, the bone marrow is often affected and destroyed. So, therefore, they often need stem cell transplant to get rid of the bad bone marrow and replace it with a healthy one. In this case, a donor is found to donate the bone marrow and before the operation is performed, the patient might also receive chemotherapy or radiation therapy to destroy as many of the cancerous cells they can before the stem cell transplant. Similar to other procedures, the process in which this is carried out differs from case to case.
• Targeted therapy treatment
  In targeted therapy treatment, certain drugs are used to very specifically target cancer cells that destroy them. For instance, certain drugs can inhibit the action of a protein in leukemia cells and thereby prevent these cells from developing and mutating.
•  Biological therapy treatment
  Biological therapy treatment works by strengthening the patient’s immune system so that their body can fight cancer.
• Clinical trials
  Clinical trials are always underway to find new and efficient ways to deal with different forms of cancer. Your doctor will recommend if any of these clinical trials suit you.

While not exactly a treatment method for leukemia, it is essential to have a proper support system. Being diagnosed with the condition can be a very stressful time for the patient and their family members. Therefore, it is important that they get maximum support, along with medical treatment. Patients should keep their family and friends close by so that they can get help emotionally coping and also physically coping with the symptoms of their condition. In addition to this, patients might require help to get taken to the hospital for treatment sessions. Patients can also go for counseling sessions.

Patients decide the right treatments for leukemia for them in consultation with the doctor. The earlier the disease is diagnosed, the easier it is to treat.