Search Here

Charlie Murphy died from cancer of the blood at the age of 57 on Wednesday morning in a hospital in New York City. The Chappelle's Show star's family were shocked as he seemed to be getting better with chemotherapy.

The comedian was famous for doing many iconic skits on the Chappelle Show with one of them on his friend Prince. Charlie is also Eddie Murphy's older brother.

Charlie Murphy has battled cancer, specifically leukemia, and has been undergoing chemotherapies. Cancer has over hundreds of types and leukemia has its different kinds too.

Getting To Know Leukemia A Bit More

It has two acute, which include the acute lymphocytic leukemia and the acute myeloid leukemia, and two chronic, which are the chronic myeloid leukemia and the chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Development of acute leukemia can take weeks and months while chronic can take a span of months or even years.

Ryan Mattison, MD, and a University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health assistant professor of medicine says some people would live for years without them knowing they contracted one of the chronic leukemias as per Health.com. A person's life expectancies could also vary.

Patients who respond well to treatments and medications can live for years after their diagnosis. According to Dr. Mattison, leukemia is a type of cancer that is treatable and, sometimes, even curable.

There are many treatments today that is working great for chronic leukemia. For instance, Gleevec for GML, which is one of the biologic therapies, are devised for immune system stimulation. Chemotherapies can also cure some cases.

In leukemia, the body's immune system weakens because white blood cells are not produced enough since the patient's bone marrow is hindered by unhealthy cancer cells. This makes a patient vulnerable to getting infections.

Each year, there are 60,000 new cases of cancer of the blood in the US which affects anyone at any age, gender or race. Meanwhile, Charlie Murphy's battle with leukemia may be over but he will surely live on in the hearts of all the people who loves him.