Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (or CLL) is a chronic cancer of the blood that especially affects the person's lymphocytes.  There are two types of lymphocytes: T and B.  These cells are important to a person's immune system, assisting in the fight against infection.  Of all CLL cases, more than 90 percent affect the "B" cells.

In a patient with acute leukemia, a cell will begin quickly reproducing, and will leave little room for the other, healthy cells.  This causes negative synptoms to develop rapidly.  With CLL, the defective B cells accumulate over a period of time, however the rate at which they reproduce is not considered abnormal.  Instead,a loss of poptosis (or programmed cell death) causes CLL.  The B cells are supposed to die when they reach a specific number, but cancerous cells lose the capacity of self-destruction.

A little more than 30 percent of adults with leukemia in the U.S. have CLL.  There were more than 15,000 new cases discovered in 2007.  And according to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, more than 95,000 people are currently living with the affliction.  Among those diagnosed with CLL, the average age is usually 55 to 60, becoming more common with age.  However, it has been diagnosed in people as young as 18.

It's not completely understood what causes CLL.  Although other forms of leukemia are linked to radiation or the chemical benzene, this is not so with CLL.  According to the Veteran's Administration, there's a link between CLL and having been exposed to Agent Orange.  In most cases, CLL has no hereditary or family link.

Most people with CLL have no noticeable symptoms.  The few who do experience symptoms report repeated infection, bleeding, fatigue, or an enlargement of the lymph nodes.  Some signs more commonly found by a doctor include an enlarged splen or abnormalities in the patient's white-blood cell count during a regular blood test.  If a doctor suspects CLL or other form of leukemia, he will send a blood sample to a laboratory for a "flow cytometry" test, to check for the presence of markers that indicate CLL.

Some people with CLL have an aggressive which will require treatment, and which has a prognosis of only two to three years.  Others have a slow-growing form of the disease, and will live 10 to 20 years.  Around half of those with CLL will fall somewhere in between those two extremes.

The decision on if and when to begin treatment can be confusing.  Those who are in an early stage actually might receive a better outcome if they start treatment after symptoms occur.  Once the patient and doctor have decided to begin treatment, the regimen recommended will vary.  Fludarabine is a chemotherapy drug that is considered the normal first-line treatment.  Some studies suggest this drug will work better if combined with another drug such as cyclophosphamide.

Those with CLL should be careful to fight infection. They can do this by washing hands thoroughly and avoiding big crowds. Proper treatment and precautionary measures will help the CLL patient improve the quality of his life.