Leukemia and the Digestive System
To first understand how Leukemia affects the Digestive system, you must first understand what the digestive system is.
Digestive System: The digestive system consists of several different organs. Some of the vital organs are the liver, small intestine, large intestine and the stomach. (3)
Leukemia has a big effect on the digestive tract. This is because the digestive system consists of the mouth (teeth, tongue and pharynx). A sympton of Leukemia includes the bleeding of gums. What this causes is that a person with leukemia will not have the ability to to break down sugars in the food they are eating and the simple task of eating will be painful. It will be different per person, but the general response is that the bleeding of the gum, which causes severe pain, will cause less food consumption. Other than leukemia, the treatment of leukemia can have a drastic affect on one's digestive system. The radiation used as treatment can disrupt the cells around the digestive tract. The patient can feel dizzy or have diarrhea. Lastly this can cause the patient to lose his or her desire to eat. (1,2)
Sources Used:
(1)http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/leukemia/page1/AllPages
(2)http://www.cpaaindia.org/infocentre/bookreview_lukemia.htm
(3)http://ibdcrohns.about.com/od/ucbasics/g/digestivesystem.htm
To first understand how Leukemia affects the Digestive system, you must first understand what the digestive system is.
Digestive System: The digestive system consists of several different organs. Some of the vital organs are the liver, small intestine, large intestine and the stomach. (3)
Leukemia has a big effect on the digestive tract. This is because the digestive system consists of the mouth (teeth, tongue and pharynx). A sympton of Leukemia includes the bleeding of gums. What this causes is that a person with leukemia will not have the ability to to break down sugars in the food they are eating and the simple task of eating will be painful. It will be different per person, but the general response is that the bleeding of the gum, which causes severe pain, will cause less food consumption. Other than leukemia, the treatment of leukemia can have a drastic affect on one's digestive system. The radiation used as treatment can disrupt the cells around the digestive tract. The patient can feel dizzy or have diarrhea. Lastly this can cause the patient to lose his or her desire to eat. (1,2)
Sources Used:
(1)http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/leukemia/page1/AllPages
(2)http://www.cpaaindia.org/infocentre/bookreview_lukemia.htm
(3)http://ibdcrohns.about.com/od/ucbasics/g/digestivesystem.htm