• Leukemia is a cancer of the blood-forming cells. In most forms of leukemia, it is the white blood cells that become malignant. There are several types of leukemia, including acute myelogenous leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

• This year, an estimated 3,600 Canadians will be diagnosed with leukemia. About 90 percent of leukemia patients are adults, although it is the most common form of childhood cancer.

• Leukemia is treated by chemotherapy, but in some cases more aggressive chemotherapy is required to kill off the cancerous blood cells, sometimes damaging healthy stem cells used to create more blood. This is why some patients require bone marrow transplants.

Did you know...

• There are two main forms of acute leukemia: acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). ALL is by far the commonest form of leukemia in children, but is rare in adults. AML accounts for about 80% of adult acute leukemia.

• Until the 1960’s acute leukemia in most cases were fatal, usually within a few weeks of diagnosis. Since that time, new treatments have been developed that allow successful treatment of leukemia. The most important of these treatments are chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation.

• Today over 85% of children and about 40% of young adults who are diagnosed with acute leukemia are cured.