Blood or bone marrow cancer is known as leukemia. Bone marrow is responsible for the production of blood cells. However, when there is a problem with the production, the condition is known as leukemia. This usually affects the white blood cells, also known as leukocytes, and is classified into various types based on it affects a person and how quickly it progresses. When it affects the white blood cells, leukemia can be classified into lymphocytic leukemia and myeloid leukemia.

The speed of its growth classifies leukemia into two more types: acute and chronic. While acute leukemia type grows fast, chronic is a slowly growing cancer. In acute leukemia, the dysfunctional blood cells accumulate in the bone marrow. This abnormal growth of leukemia cells slows down the production of healthy blood cells in the bone marrow. In chronic leukemia, on the other hand, although the progression is slow, the leukemia cells are still abnormal but the accumulated cells are mature. Some of the common leukemia types that you should know about are:

1. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
This type of leukemia has slow growth and starts with the lymphocytes in the bone marrow which then progress into the blood. It may further spread into the lymph nodes and some organs such as the liver and spleen. The leukemia type occurs when abnormal lymphocytes grow in a large number. The number goes beyond control and eventually outnumber the normal blood cells. This ultimately makes the body inefficient to fight infections.

2. Chronic myeloid leukemia
Also known as chronic myelogenous leukemia, this leukemia type starts in the blood-forming cells in the bone marrow and eventually progress to the blood. In its last stages, the disease spreads and affects the entire body.

3. Hairy cell leukemia
This is a rare type of leukemia and is a subtype of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which is known to progress slowly. The condition occurs when the bone marrow produces B cells in abundance. B cells are responsible for fighting infections for the body but are abnormal and look hairy when seen under a microscope. When leukemia cells outgrow the production of healthy white cells, the presence of platelets and red blood cells decreases.

4. Acute lymphocytic leukemia
This type of leukemia progresses at a rapid rate and replaces healthy lymphocyte-producing cells with cancer cells that do not grow properly. The bloodstream then carries the leukemia cells to other organs and tissues of the body. The organs that usually get affected are the brain, liver, testes, and lymph nodes. The leukemia cells keep growing and dividing themselves in the body; this leads to several symptoms.

5. Acute myeloid leukemia
This leukemia type is known by several names like acute myelogenous leukemia, acute granulocytic leukemia, and acute nonlymphocytic leukemia or acute myeloblastic leukemia. This type of leukemia spreads fast and starts from the blood or bone marrow.