Lifestyle

Bruising Easily and Drenching Night Sweats Can Be Signs of Leukemia, Which Is Most Common Over 60. Other Signs to Know

By Curtis Jones · November 10, 2026

A bruise that shows up out of nowhere is easy to shrug off. So is waking up damp after a warm night. Most of the time those things mean nothing. But both are on the short list of symptoms that federal health sources connect to leukemia, a cancer that becomes more common with every decade after midlife.

Leukemia is a term for cancers of the blood cells. MedlinePlus, the consumer health service of the National Library of Medicine, explains that it starts in blood-forming tissue such as the bone marrow. The marrow makes the cells that become white blood cells, which fight infection, red blood cells, which carry oxygen, and platelets, which help blood clot.

With leukemia, the marrow makes large numbers of abnormal cells, most often white blood cells. Those cells build up and crowd out the healthy ones. That crowding helps explain why the warning signs look the way they do. Fewer working platelets can mean bruising and bleeding. Fewer healthy white cells can mean more infections.

Age matters here. MedlinePlus says the overall risk of leukemia goes up as you age and that it is most common over age 60. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL, is one of the most common types in adults, and MedlinePlus says most people diagnosed with it are over 50.

These are the symptoms MedlinePlus lists for leukemia in general.

Feeling tired. This is the most common and the least specific sign on the list.

Fever or night sweats. For CLL, MedlinePlus describes them as drenching night sweats.

Easy bruising or bleeding. Bruises that appear without a bump you remember, or bleeding that is slow to stop.

Petechiae. These are tiny red dots under the skin, and MedlinePlus says they are caused by bleeding.

Weight loss or loss of appetite. Losing weight without trying is worth mentioning to a doctor.

The MedlinePlus page on CLL adds a few more.

Swollen lymph nodes. You may notice them as painless lumps in the neck, underarm, stomach or groin.

Pain or a feeling of fullness below the ribs.

Fever and infection. Infections that keep coming back can be part of the pattern.

One detail surprises a lot of people. MedlinePlus says chronic leukemia may not cause symptoms at first, and that in the beginning CLL does not cause any symptoms at all. Because blood tests such as a complete blood count are among the main tools used to find leukemia, a routine checkup can be where the first clue turns up.

None of these signs means a person has cancer. Bruising gets easier with age for plenty of ordinary reasons, and tiredness and night sweats have many common causes. What matters is a change that sticks around, several signs showing up together, or something that has no clear explanation.

MedlinePlus says a health care provider may start with a physical exam, a medical history and blood tests, and may order bone marrow tests and genetic tests. For CLL, one option it describes is watchful waiting, where treatment does not start right away and the provider checks regularly for changes. Other treatments depend on the type of leukemia, how severe it is, your age and your overall health.

The practical step is simple. If bruising, night sweats, tiredness or weight loss last more than a little while, make an appointment and say so plainly. Write down when you first noticed each one and how often it happens. Only a clinician can sort out what those changes mean after an exam and testing.

This article is for general information and is not medical advice. Talk with your doctor or health care provider about any symptoms that worry you. This article was produced with the assistance of AI and fact-checked against the sources cited by LightWave Reports.