Leukemia cells are abnormal cells that cannot do what normal blood cells do. They cannot help the body fight infections. For this reason, people with leukemia often get infections and have fevers, which are common symptoms of leukemia.
Also, people with leukemia often have less than the normal amount of healthy red blood cells and platelets. As a result, there are not enough red blood cells to carry oxygen through the body. With this condition, called anemia, patients may look pale and feel weak and tired. When there are not enough platelets, patients bleed and bruise easily.
Like all blood cells, leukemia cells travel through the body. Depending on the number of abnormal cells and where these cells collect, patients with leukemia may have a number of leukemia symptoms.
Acute leukemia symptoms appear and get worse quickly. People with this disease go to their doctor because they feel sick. Chronic leukemia symptoms may not appear for a long time; when leukemia symptoms do appear, they generally are mild at first and get worse gradually. Doctors often detect chronic leukemia during a routine checkup--before there are any symptoms.