Question

The nurse is screening client for those at increased risk for developing cancer. At highest risk for developing leukemia is the client who.

Answer 1

1.) Gender: Men are more likely than woman to develop leukemia.

2.) Age: The risk of most leukemias increase with age. The median age of a patient diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is 65 years and older.

3.) Exposure to cancer-causing agents high doses of radiation (from the explosion of an atomic bomb, working in an atomic weapons plant, or a nuclear reactor accident) have a heightened risk of developing leukemia.

4.) Long-term exposure to high levels of solvents such as benzene — in the workplace, for example — is a known risk factor. CLL may also be linked to exposure to Agent Orange, a chemical used widely during the Vietnam War.

5.) Smoking. Cigarettes contain dozens of cancer-causing chemicals. Researchers estimate that about 20 percent of AML cases are related to smoking.

6.) History of radiation therapy or chemotherapy can cause mutations, or changes in a cell’s DNA, that later may lead to cancers including leukemia. AML is linked to treatments for Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, childhood ALL, breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

7.) Myelodysplastic syndromes. About one-third of patients who have this bone marrow failure disorder may eventually develop leukemia.

8.) Genetic syndromes like Down syndrome, Fanconi anemia, ataxia-telangiectasia, and Bloom syndrome increase risk for developing leukemia.

9.) Family history. People who have a first-degree relative — a parent, child, or sibling — with CLL have a two- to four-fold increased risk of developing CLL.