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Charity No.

The charities registered number
is: 1121512

Hairy Cell Leukaemia

What Is It?

Hairy cell leukaemia is a rare type of chronic leukaemia. It develops slowly from white cells called B lymphocytes. When doctors look at the cells under a microscope, they have hair like projections on their surfaces. This is where the name ‘hairy cell’ comes from.

Symptoms

Common symptoms are:

Tiredness, because of anaemia
Frequent infections
Bruising easily
Swelling and pain in your abdomen
Weight loss

Treatment

This depends on whether you have symptoms or not. There are different treatments for HCL. You may need just one treatment, or a combination of treatments. The main treatment for hairy cell leukaemia is chemotherapy. You may also have surgery, interferon alpha or rituximab.

Links

Leukaemia Research Fund
 


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