Hairy cell leukemia affects a type of white blood cell called the lymphocyte
HCL is a chronic (slowly progressing) disease, and the patients may not show any symptoms for many years
It has higher occurrences in Ashkenazi Jewish men
There are approximately 600 new cases diagnosed every year in the United States, making up about 2% of the adult cases of leukemia each year
It was first described in 1958