Leukemia treatment

The first goal in treating leukemia is to get your blood cell counts back to a healthy range. If that happens and the bone marrow looks healthy under a microscope, your leukemia is considered in remission. No matter what stage of diagnosis you’re at, our multidisciplinary team at Advocate Health Care will work with you to create the best possible treatment plan for your leukemia diagnosis. This includes access to ongoing cancer clinical trials and a full range of support services to meet your needs.

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What are some treatment options for leukemia?

If your blood tests come back indicating a presence of leukemia, your doctor will take a bone marrow biopsy from your hip to determine the specific type of leukemia you have. Your specific leukemia diagnosis, along with your leukemia symptoms will determine which treatment options are best for you, and, for some leukemia cases, that may include a combination of treatments.

Medical therapy

Advocate provides access to the latest and most effective chemotherapy options for leukemia, prioritizing maximum effectiveness while minimizing side effects. We also offer immunotherapy – newer, FDA-approved drug therapies that help your own immune system fight leukemia. This treatment may be beneficial if your leukemia is advanced and might be used alongside surgery and chemotherapy.

Radiation therapy

Advocate uses the most advanced radiation therapies available to target leukemia with extreme precision. Targeted therapy treatments for leukemia can include intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), which focus high-dose radiation directly on the tumor, while sparing surrounding healthy tissue.

Bone marrow transplants

In some cases of leukemia, a bone marrow transplant (also called a stem cell transplant) might be an option. The procedure is used to replace damaged or destroyed bone marrow with healthy bone marrow stem cells, which are immature cells in the bone marrow that give rise to all of your blood cells. A bone marrow transplant replaces bone marrow that either is not working properly or has been destroyed by other leukemia treatments, like chemotherapy or radiation.

Bone Marrow Transplant Program: Our research-driven program provides innovative, leading-edge treatment options in a compassionate healing environment to help cancer patients achieve outstanding outcomes that exceed national averages. Learn more about our program.

Are there combination therapies for leukemia?

Combination therapy is a treatment option for those diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). It can also be an option for other forms of leukemia, depending on the severity of the case and the location of the cancer within the body.

Combination therapy usually entails using targeted therapy drugs with chemotherapy or immunotherapy to better target leukemia cancer cells in the body. New research has shown that combination therapy for leukemia may be effective in increasing remission, with some patients being able to go off therapy completely.

Depending on the type of leukemia you have, your health care provider might explore a combination of therapies to try and target the leukemia cells more specifically and hopefully reduce the need for long-term treatment.

Side effects of leukemia treatments

Treating cancer can come with some very specific and harsh side effects. Treating leukemia is no different. No matter what kind of leukemia is being treated, there’s a chance for unwanted side effects. Some of the most common include:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Fatigue
• Hair loss
• Infertility
• Memory and concentration issues, also known as “chemo brain”
• Nerve pain and weakness
• Loss of appetite
• Low blood cell counts
• Infections due to reduced white blood cell counts

If you start experiencing symptoms, it’s important to mention them to your health care provider. They’ll work with you to help manage the side effects and work towards lessening their severity.

Outlook for treating leukemia

Everyone’s experience with leukemia is different and that includes your prognosis. A variety of factors like white blood cell count, age, health and type of leukemia all factor into the success of your treatment plan. Your health care provider will work to create an individualized treatment plan that prioritizes your health as well as your specific diagnosis.