Suffering from uncontrolled bleeding, high fever, confusion, sweating and discomfort with breathing can be a frightening experience. These symptoms may be due to a number of mild ailments and conditions, or if they persist, it could be due to something far more serious that requires your immediate attention. It could be caused by a type of blood cancer.

While blood cancer hasnt generated as much of awareness as breast, colon or prostate cancer has, its an extremely common disease, and one that thousands of people suffer from each year. Each and every day, the stats on blood cancer go up, with leukemia being one of the most common types of blood cancer.

Do you know the three types of blood cancer? Lymphoma, leukemia and myeloma make up the three classifications of this type of cancer, and are all fatally serious, depending on when you become diagnosed.
In fact, just in the United States alone, someone is diagnosed with blood cancer every four minutes, and with nearly 260,000 suffering from leukemia each year.

So what exactly is blood cancer, and how can you determine the signs? Blood cancer develops when your body has a high number of white cells in the body. As you white cells increase, they threaten your liver, spleen and nervous system and become unable to fight off bacteria, disease and illness. There are many types of blood cancer, but most common is Hodgkins lymphoma and Kaylers disease.

So what causes blood cancer after all?
There are several risk factors, with the biggest one being a weakened immune system. People that are infected with HIV or AIDS for example, dont die from the virus. What they die from is cancer or other diseases that their immune system cant properly fight off, such as leukemia.

A type of blood cancer, lymphoma, has been linked with the HTLV-1 virus, which came from the Caribbean and is thought to be responsible for T-cell leukemia. But the verdict is still out on what directly causes blood cancer, and how many variables they are.

When your plasma cells (the ones that contain antibodies) stop producing antibodies, they essentially create a build up plasma that block normal blood cells from doing their job. And when that happens, cancerous cells develop and cause a variety of symptoms. Early detection is your greatest defense, so see a doctor immediately if any of the following arise:
** Unexplained weight loss despite no changes in your diet or exercise
** High fever, accompanied by fatigue
** Prone to bruising and bleeding
** Reoccurring bacterial infections (common with leukemia, since the body is unable to fight off infection due to a poor immune system.)
** Loss of appetite which will contribute to light headedness, fatigue, and even vertigo.
** Small red spots on the skin
** Bone and joint discomfort and pain

The symptoms of blood cancer can vary from one person to the next, and from child to adult. While scientists are still trying to determine the cause of blood cancer, the best chance you have to fight it off, and keep it from crippling your own life is through early detection, knowing the facts, and staying informed about your body at all times.