More than 1 million Americans in the United States are living with or have been diagnosed with leukemia. That's a lot of people. I chose to do my research paper on leukemia because two years ago I lost my grandmother to cancer. I wanted to know more about the illness and what was happening to him. I researched the different types, risk factors, symptoms, treatments and what types of research is being done to help cure leukemia. Leukemia is a cancer of blood cells that starts in the bone marrow. During leukemia, the bone marrow begins to produce large numbers of abnormal white blood cells or “leukemia cells.” There are four main types of leukemia. They are grouped by how quickly they spread and the type of white blood cells affected. The rate at which leukemia spreads is either acute or chronic. Acute leukemia gets worse more quickly and can make a person sick immediately. Where chronic leukemia gets worse slowly and may not cause any symptoms for years. The type of blood cells affected by leukemia are lymphatic or myeloid. Lymphatic leukemia affects white blood cells called lymphocytes. Where myeloid leukemia affects white blood cells called myelocytes. When the two groups come together, they form four main types of leukemia. These are acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic lymphoblastic leukemia (CLL) and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Each type is different in its own way, but experts still don't know for sure what causes leukemia. Although there is no known cause of leukemia, there are risk factors that can cause the disease. Some include large amounts of radiation, certain chemicals, Down syndrome or other genetic problems, and smoking. Some types of ...... middle of paper ......ment. They also try to find new ways to improve the quality of life. Another solution is to test new targeted therapies, biological therapies and chemotherapies. Finally, they try various combinations of treatments to find the one that will hopefully cure leukemia forever. I chose to do my research project on leukemia because it is the type of cancer I lost my grandmother to. I wanted to know more about the disease because I was confused and when we talked about it, I didn't understand what everyone was saying. I learned what leukemia is and how to treat it. I also learned about the different types of leukemia, risk factors, symptoms, and what research is being done to cure leukemia. I'm really glad I chose leukemia for my project because now I know what my grandmother had to go through and I feel closer to her now..