The four types of leukemia each begin in a cell in the bone marrow. The cell undergoes a leukemic change and it multiplies into many cells. The leukemia cells grow and survive better than normal cells and, over time, they crowd out normal cells. Normal stem cells in the marrow form three main cell-types: Red cells, platelets and white cells. There are two major types of white cells: germ-ingesting cells (neutrophils and monocytes) and lymphocytes, which are part of the body's immune system and help to fight to infection. The rate at which leukemia progresses and how the cells replace the normal blood and marrow cells are different with each type of leukemia.
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