Leukemia in Spanish

What it means

Leukemia is a term for cancers of the blood cells. It starts in blood-forming tissues such as the bone marrow. In leukemia the bone marrow makes large numbers of abnormal cells, most often white blood cells; they build up in the bone marrow and blood and crowd out the healthy blood cells. Which type of leukemia a person has depends on the type of blood cell that becomes cancer and whether it grows quickly or slowly: acute leukemia is fast growing and chronic leukemia is slow growing. Symptoms may include feeling tired, fever or night sweats, easy bruising or bleeding, and weight loss or loss of appetite. Blood tests, such as a complete blood count, and bone marrow tests are among the tools used to diagnose it.

Leukemia in Spanish

Spanish term: Leucemia
Gender and article: feminine: la leucemia
Pronunciation: leh-oo-SEH-myah

Leucemia is the title of the MedlinePlus en español page and the headword in the Real Academia Española dictionary, which marks it as a feminine noun: la leucemia. The dictionary defines leucemia as a neoplastic disease of the organs that form blood cells, characterized by the malignant proliferation of leucocitos. The National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary entry for leucemia calls the abnormal blood cells glóbulos anormales.

MedlinePlus en español names the two growth patterns leucemia aguda (fast growing) and leucemia crónica (slow growing), and gives the main types as leucemia linfocítica aguda, leucemia mielógena aguda, leucemia linfocítica crónica and leucemia mielógena crónica. Words that appear with the term are médula ósea (bone marrow), glóbulos blancos (white blood cells), plaquetas (platelets), moretones (bruises) and conteo sanguíneo completo (complete blood count).

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Patient	I have been feeling very tired, and I bruise easily.	He sentido mucho cansancio y me salen moretones con facilidad.
Clinician	Have you had fever or night sweats?	¿Ha tenido fiebre o sudores nocturnos?
Clinician	Your complete blood count shows a large number of abnormal white blood cells.	Su conteo sanguíneo completo muestra una gran cantidad de glóbulos blancos anormales.
Patient	Does that mean I have leukemia?	¿Eso significa que tengo leucemia?
Clinician	We need a bone marrow test to find out.	Necesitamos una prueba de médula ósea para saberlo.
Patient	What is the difference between acute and chronic leukemia?	¿Cuál es la diferencia entre la leucemia aguda y la crónica?
Clinician	Acute leukemia grows quickly, and chronic leukemia grows slowly.	La leucemia aguda crece rápidamente y la leucemia crónica crece lentamente.
Patient	Which type of leukemia do I have?	¿Qué tipo de leucemia tengo?

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Leukemia
Spanish (Español)	Leucemia
Chinese (中文)	白血病
Korean (한국어)	백혈병
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Bệnh bạch cầu
Filipino (Tagalog)	Lukimya
Portuguese (Português)	Leucemia
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	มะเร็งเม็ดเลือดขาว
Japanese (日本語)	白血病

Where you'll see it

oncology reportreferralchartmedical record

Related ICD-10-CM category

ICD-10-CM code: C91 → Lymphoid leukemia

Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: Blood and immune system

All terms in this area: Blood and immune system — Sangre y sistema inmunitario

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.