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Did You Know Q3 2015

In science and medicine, information is constantly changing and may become out-of-date as new data emerge. All articles and interviews are informational only, should never be considered medical advice, and should never be acted on without review with your health care team.

By Brian Koffman, MD

  • CLL is classified as both a type of leukemia (cancer of the blood) and lymphoma (cancer of the lymphatic system).
  • All survival data for CLL by necessity is always looking back in time. Survival rates for CLL continue to improve decade after decade so old data is always more pessimistic than the today’s reality looking forward.
  • CLL may be called the “GOOD CANCER” but when looking back, disease progression was the ultimate cause of death in more than half of newly-diagnosed CLL patients. An additional 26% died of causes possibly related to CLL, including infections and secondary cancers.
  • More than four out of ten CLL patients feel they don’t get enough sleep.
  • The most frequently expressed impacts of CLL are worry, fear, and depression. “Watch and wait” patients may be the most affected.

Originally published in The CLL Tribune Q3 2015.