What is chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)?

What is chronic lymphocytic leukemia or CLL?

So CLL or chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a type of blood cancer. This is a cancer of our white blood cells. So we all have white blood cells as part of our immune system. And one of those types of cells is called lymphocytes. Further breaking it down, we have these B cells, which are usually our antibody producing cells, but include a change occurs that one accumulates too many of these B lymphocytes that are dysfunctional B lymphocytes. And so it's really a cancer of the immune system. So chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a cancer of our immune system, of our defense cells. So we have cells called lymphocytes. They are these cells that will fight infections,fight bacteria, fight viruses. They're floating around in our blood. Usually they live around the lymph, the lymph nodes, or sometimes you have an infected tooth. You see
there is a little lump on your on your neck, and that's your immune system fighting that infection. So CLL is a cancer of these cells. So these cells you have a malignant clone just arises out of them and starts growing and then are detected throughout your bloodstream and also potentially in your lymph nodes and even in other sites. We have immune system in every single part of our body. So it's a disease that involves our immune system. So chronic lymphocytic leukemia or CLL also known as small lymphocytic lymphoma or SLL. There are about the same, and it's just a matter of distinction whether that, you know, more prominent manifestations either in the blood or as lymph nodes or organ involvement and we'll use the terms interchangeably. CLL is a, yeah, hematologic malignancy of the lymphatic system is part of your organs that involve in the production of cells that have to do with a immune defense. And you know, the white blood cells. And this is in conglomerated as part of the hematologic, you know, part of hematologic disorders. So CLL is a cancer of these lymphocytes, which are B cells they have to deal with your immune responses. They are part of your immune mechanism. One of the white blood cells that are engulfed in the total white blood cell count It's manifested by the proliferation or clonal proliferation and expansion of these lymphocytes that will raise your total white blood cell count with their vast majority of these abnormal B cells that are the cloner. These cells lose the ability to die and they get you know, they can overcome your natural defense mechanism and, you know, regulatory response from your own body. And when they start to proliferate, they start creating problems. They start accumulating in either lymphatic lymph nodes, making them to be large or organs such as the spleen. They also can start occupying more space within your bone marrow, which is the factory of your red cells and your platelets and your or, you know, your regular red blood cells, and they start to take over and destroying the older ones or accumulate in the space, causing anemia, causing low platelets and manifestations, which just fatigue there are intrinsically non very well functional so they can lead to recurrent infections and things like that. And those are typically the manifestations that lead to treatment of these disorders.