CML symptoms

Many of the symptoms in the chronic phase are very common and are often caused by other things. They usually develop very slowly and include:

• tiredness or fatigue (extreme tiredness)
• loss of appetite
• unexplained weight loss
• bloating, swelling, general discomfort and sometimes pain around the stomach area (caused by an enlarged spleen)
• blurred vision
• unusual or excessive bleeding, for example from your gums or nose
• long-lasting, painful erections (priapism).

Your symptoms won’t normally change much from the chronic phase to the high risk chronic phase, but they may become more obvious and you may also notice bone pain. This is caused by the myeloid blasts starting to overcrowd your bone marrow.

Your hospital team will run regular tests to look for changes in your blood, bone marrow and blast counts to check for signs of development to the this phase.

Increased symptoms during this phase could also mean that the CML is reaching the blast phase, so your doctor will monitor you closely to check for any signs of this.

In addition to the symptoms already mentioned, people in the blast phase often notice extra symptoms, including:

• fever
• bruising more easily than normal
• repeated infections
• swollen lymph nodes
• headaches (if blast cells are in the fluid around the brain and spinal cord).

It’s important to remember that a lot of the symptoms of CML can be explained by other causes, and having any of these symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean you have CML or that it is getting worse. Always mention any new symptoms or changes you notice to your doctor.