Cancer Tumour To Leukaemia?

[Cloverjo]

I was wondering if anyone here knows if it's possible for cancerous tumours in organs to metastasise in such a way that the sufferer develops leukaemia.

[237SJ]

I`m not an expert (and nor is anyone else on here) Cancers tend to spread to organs that have a lot of blood passing throught them such as lungs, liver and brain. I very much doubt that leukaemia would result from cancer in another part of the body.

[bednobs]

i have never heard of it.

[Cloverjo]

Thanks, 237SJ. I thought it seemed unlikely.

[Cloverjo]

Thanks too for your reply, bednobs.

[anneasquith]

I have never heard of this ( no expert though ).

[Cloverjo]

Thanks, anneasquith.

[ubasses]

Spread to other organs: Less often, ALL will spread to other organs, where it may form tumors.

Just copied this from the website:
http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/003054-pdf.pdf

It is about 7 pages down.

[Cloverjo]

Thanks ubasses. It looks like my fears of leukaemia are unfounded. The reason I asked is that my mum has advanced cancer and she has shown a couple of symptoms of leukaemia. It now seems that the symptoms are actually signs that her body is breaking down, so any way up things don't look good for her.

[anneasquith]

I'm sorry to hear your news jo :(

[Sqad]

It depends upon what you mean by "leukaemia."

Yes primary tumours from say lung or breast may metastasise to bone giving abnormalities in the blood picture which may be confused with the blood picture of leaukaemia.
The symptoms would be lassitude, tiredness, pallor, nausea , those typical of any type of "anaemia"

Is that helpful?

[Cloverjo]

Thanks anneasqiuth, and thank you to sqad for your reply. My mum is in the final stages of her horrendous fight against cancer, so she is suffering fatigue among many more nightmarish things.
The symptoms I am concerned about here are small very dark blue/purple bruises that don't look like the normal kind of bruises you get if you bump yourself or are hit. They have a very defined edge. Also she has red pinprick-like dots on her legs.

[Sqad]

Clovejo. A haematologist's opinion on the blood film would soon sort the wheat from the chaff.

[237SJ]

Sorry about your mum Cloverjo. Is she having any sort of chemo treatment? Bruising can be a side effect of that.

[Cloverjo]

Ok. Thanks, sqad. I don't think it matters too much at this stage. She is dying. it would distress her too much, and getting blood out of her was difficult enough when she was well. I was just wondering if the symptoms were leukaemia or else signs of her body finally breaking down.
Thanks for all replies. I'm very grateful for your time and help.

[Cloverjo]

237sj. No chemo now. She has had it several rounds of it, but it can't help her now.

[Sqad]

\\\\Also she has red pinprick-like dots on her legs.\\

These are most certainly what are known as Campbell de Morgan spots.

Harmless and no big deal.

[Cloverjo]

Thanks again, sqad.

[slaney]

First of all Cloverjo, I'm very sorry to hear about your mother and I hope everything possible is done to keep her comfortable.

I got the impression from another thread that your mother has a primary brain tumour.
Is this right? If so this type of tumour rarely spreads to other parts of the body including the bone marrow. if
The bruising and pinprick spots sound as if they might be due to a low platelet count. Has anyone ever said this is the case?
The only advantage of knowing whether the platelet count is low at this stage is that you could seek early advice if she developed a nosebleed etc. (if she is at home at the moment and not in hospital)

[Cloverjo]

Slaney, thank you for your kind thoughts. Yes, my mum has cancer in her brain. It has spread from the original tumour in her bowel. No one has tested for low platelet count. She does not bleed easily.
To be honest, she is deteriorating so quickly, it's not worth putting her through the discomfort of any more tests. I've seen a massive difference in her abilities in only 24 hours. She is being kept comfortable at home at the moment.
Thanks again to everyone on this thread.