Blood Cancer Awareness Month: Understanding Leukemia, Lymphoma, and Myeloma

Where the September label came from

The observance has been on the congressional record for years. H. Res. 1433, introduced in the House in June 2010, expressed support for designating that September as Blood Cancer Awareness Month. The text noted that blood cancers then affected more than 900,000 people in the United States.

A month on a calendar does not treat anyone. What it can do is make three confusing words clearer: leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. They are not one disease. They start in different cells and are handled in different ways.

Leukemia starts in the marrow

Leukemia is a broad term for cancers of the blood cells, as NCI puts it. Which leukemia a person has depends on two things. The first is which blood cell turned cancerous. The second is whether it grows fast or slow.

That gives four common adult types. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia move quickly. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia and chronic myeloid leukemia move slowly, sometimes over years.

The damage follows a pattern. Abnormal cells fill the bone marrow. They crowd out the healthy red cells, white cells, and platelets. That is why the early signs are tiredness, infections, and easy bruising rather than a lump. NCI notes that leukemia is most common in adults over 55, and is also the most common cancer in children under 15. Our guide to leukemia covers the types one by one.

Lymphoma starts in the lymph system

Lymphoma begins in lymphocytes, a kind of white blood cell that lives in lymph nodes, the spleen, and other lymph tissue.

The first split is between Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. That split is made under a microscope. NCI explains that a pathologist looks at lymph node tissue for Reed-Sternberg cells, which are large abnormal lymphocytes that may hold more than one nucleus. These cells are common in classic Hodgkin lymphoma.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is the larger group. NCI divides it by speed rather than by one label. Indolent lymphoma grows slowly and causes few symptoms. Aggressive lymphoma grows fast and can cause severe symptoms. The treatments differ. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is the most common non-Hodgkin type, and it is an aggressive one. Our page on lymphoma goes through the subtypes.

Myeloma starts in one plasma cell

Plasma cells are the immune system's antibody factories. They grow out of B lymphocytes. When bacteria or viruses arrive, some B cells turn into plasma cells and make antibodies.

In multiple myeloma, abnormal plasma cells build up in the marrow and form tumors in bones. NCI explains that they also churn out one useless antibody protein, called M protein. It piles up in the marrow. It can thicken the blood or damage the kidneys.

There is a quieter relative worth knowing. In monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, or MGUS, less than 10 percent of the marrow is abnormal plasma cells and there is no cancer. M protein shows up on a routine blood or urine test. NCI says the amount usually stays flat and causes no problems, though MGUS can later turn into myeloma or another condition. Our overview of multiple myeloma explains how the two are told apart.

The scale, in SEER numbers

The National Cancer Institute's SEER program estimates for 2026 in the United States:

• leukemia, all types: about 67,790 new cases and 23,910 deaths.
• non-Hodgkin lymphoma: about 79,320 new cases and 19,970 deaths.
• Hodgkin lymphoma: about 8,920 new cases and 1,100 deaths.
• myeloma: about 36,000 new cases and 10,850 deaths.

Five-year relative survival, for people diagnosed from 2016 to 2022, is 68.6 percent for leukemia overall, 74.3 percent for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, 89.3 percent for Hodgkin lymphoma, and 63.7 percent for myeloma. Each of those figures averages many subtypes with very different courses. They describe groups, not people.

Signs that earn a blood test

Blood cancers rarely announce themselves. The common signs are ordinary things that do not go away.

For leukemia, watch for lasting tiredness, repeated infections, fever with no clear cause, easy bruising or bleeding, and pinpoint red spots under the skin.

For lymphoma, NCI lists swollen lymph nodes, fever, drenching night sweats, weight loss, and fatigue. A swollen node that stays for more than two to three weeks without an infection to explain it deserves a look.

For myeloma, NCI lists bone pain, especially in the back or ribs, bones that break easily, fever or frequent infections, easy bruising or bleeding, trouble breathing, weakness in the arms or legs, and feeling very tired.

The single most useful step is a complete blood count. It is cheap, quick, and abnormal results point the way.

What this does not mean

• These signs have common causes far more often than cancer. Most tiredness is not leukemia, and most swollen nodes are infections.
• The survival figures above are wide averages. A slow chronic leukemia and an aggressive acute one sit inside the same number.
• MGUS is not myeloma. It is a finding that is watched over time.
• An awareness month does not change screening advice. There is no general population screening test for these cancers.

Sources

• H. Res. 1433, 111th Congress (govinfo)
• NCI: Leukemia
• NCI: Adult Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment (PDQ) — Patient Version
• NCI: Adult Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment (PDQ) — Patient Version
• NCI: Plasma Cell Neoplasms (Including Multiple Myeloma) Treatment (PDQ) — Patient Version
• SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Leukemia
• SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Myeloma

How this page was made

An AI-assisted editorial system helped prepare this page. This article has not been reviewed by a healthcare professional unless a named reviewer is specifically shown. Cancer Explained is published by the National Cancer Information Foundation as a nonprofit-oriented public-interest education project. It is not a diagnostic service, does not recommend treatments, and is not for emergencies.

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