• Leukaemia, a Greek word meaning white blood, was identified in 1845. Leukaemia represents just over 5% of all cancers. The first drugs that were effective for the treatment of leukaemia did not appear until the 1950's.

Twenty years ago, patients diagnosed with leukaemia faced a poor prognosis. Thanks to developments in medical research and new treatments, around seven in every 10 children, and three in every 10 adults survive acute leukaemia after treatment.

Leukaemia is a malignant disease (cancer) of the blood and bone marrow. It is characterized by the uncontrolled accumulation of blood cells. Types of leukaemia are grouped by the type of cell affected and by the rate of cell growth. Leukaemia is either acute or chronic.

When people speak of "Leukaemia" there are a variety of specific conditions that include leukaemia, aplastic anaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and related blood diseases.

Leukaemia is the most common form of childhood cancer, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is the fifth most commonly occurring cancer. However, more adults than children are diagnosed with leukaemia each year.

When you are looking for information about leukaemia, it really helps to know the proper medical diagnosis so that you can find the correct information.

Leukaemia or Leukemia - US and UK spelling

It's not surprising that spelling of medical terms is confusing. Leukaemia is the English spelling, while Leukemia is the American spelling!