Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is one of the most common types of leukemia for adults.

People with this type of cancer have abnormal cells inside their bone marrow. The cells grow quickly and replace healthy blood cells. The bone marrow, which helps the body fight infections, eventually stops working correctly. People with AML become more prone to infections and have an increased risk for bleeding as the numbers of healthy blood cells decrease.

Treatment involves using chemotherapy to kill the cancer cells. Chemotherapy, however, also kills normal cells. This may cause side effects such as an increased risk for infection until the body replaces normal cells. Doctors often limit visits to prevent infection.