ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 1996 TAG: 9604240072
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 4 EDITION: METRO
Leukemia is cancer of the white blood cells. It can appear in the blood or the bone marrow.
The bad news ...
* Leukemia is the leading disease killer of children. In the U.S., four in every 100,000 children between the ages of 2 and 10 will be diagnosed with leukemia this year.
* Every 10 minutes in the U.S., a child or adult dies from leukemia or a related cancer: lymphoma, multiple myeloma or Hodgkin's disease.
* Leukemia strikes 10 times as many adults as children. More than half of all cases of leukemia occur in persons over 60.
* Leukemia is the leading fatal malignant disease in women and men under age 35.
* Nearly 97,000 Americans will be diagnosed with leukemia or a related cancer this year. Nearly 55,000 Americans will die from leukemia or a related cancer this year - nearly 150 people every day.
The good news ...
* The survival rate for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood leukemia, was only 4 percent in 1960. Today the survival rate has improved to nearly 75 percent. ALL is now considered to be a potentially curable disease.
* The survival rate for adult patients will ALL has risen from 4 percent in 1960 to near 40 percent in the last decade.
* Hodgkin's disease is now considered to be one of the most curable forms of malignancy. The survival rate has doubled from 40 percent in 1960 to more than 80 percent today.
- Leukemia Society of America
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