Charlie Murphy, the older brother of comedian Eddie Murphy, has died after a battle with leukemia. He was 57 years old.

He co-wrote sketches on Chappelle’s Show and starred in his brother’s movies Norbit, Vampire in Brooklyn and Black Jesus. He also appeared in Power season four.

There are four main types of leukemia — two chronic and two acute — each with different subsets.

Symptoms

TMZ reports that Charlie Murphy, the older brother of Eddie, passed away Wednesday morning after a long battle with leukemia. The comedian was 57 years old.

He was best known for his recurring roles on Comedy Central’s Chappelle’s Show, where he appeared in some of Dave’s most memorable skits – including one that had him recounting a night he partied with music legends Prince and Rick James.

He also penned some of his brother’s movies, like Norbit and Vampire in Brooklyn, and toured with the likes of Cedric the Entertainer, George Lopez and D.L. Hughley. He leaves behind two children from his marriage to Tisha Taylor, who died in 2009 of cervical cancer, and another from a previous relationship. He also had a number of other standup gigs under his belt. TheBLACKMedia sends our condolences to the family and friends of the late comedian. We hope he rests in peace. A lot of people will miss him.

Diagnosis

Most leukemias are diagnosed through blood tests, though sometimes doctors can tell from a physical exam if you have swollen lymph nodes or an enlarged liver or spleen. Other symptoms, such as fever and night sweats, can also point to the disease.

When you have chronic leukemia, immature blood cells called blasts develop in your bone marrow and crowd out the cells that normally develop into red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. These abnormal blasts don’t work as well as the normal cells to deliver oxygen and fight infections.

Your doctor will order a complete blood count (CBC) to see how many normal red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets you have. They may also order an imaging test — a chest X-ray, CT scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan — to check for areas where the leukemia cells have spread. They may also test a sample of spinal fluid from your spine for cancer cells.

Treatment

Your doctor will check your blood cells with a simple blood test. He or she may also use other tests to find out how serious your leukemia is.

Your healthcare provider can treat your leukemia by using chemotherapy, biological therapy or a combination of both. He or she can also give you medicine to help ease symptoms and side effects.

If your treatment is successful, you’ll be in remission. In remission, your blood cell counts return to normal, and any signs or symptoms of leukemia disappear.

Your doctor may treat your leukemia with new medicines being tested in clinical trials or by using ALLO stem cell transplantation. He or she can also try targeted therapy, which targets specific genes, proteins or tissue environments that contribute to cancer growth and survival. If you have advanced leukemia, your doctor will discuss palliative care options. Palliative care focuses on managing pain and other physical symptoms. It can include things like massage, acupuncture, counseling and support groups.

Prevention

Leukemia doesn’t always have a clear cause. It usually develops from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Some risk factors you can’t control, like age and gender, make you more likely to get it. Others you can, like smoking and exposure to certain chemicals.

In children, leukemia can be hard to diagnose because the symptoms may resemble other health conditions. A doctor can take a sample of bone marrow to check for cancer. Bone marrow is the soft center inside some bones where blood cells are made. Blood tests can also help detect the condition.

Charlie Murphy was an actor, comedian and writer who was best known for his skits on Comedy Central’s Chappelle’s Show and starring roles in movies such as Norbit, Vampire in Brooklyn and Black Jesus. His wife, Tisha Taylor Murphy, died in 2009 from cervical cancer. He also co-wrote some of his brother Eddie’s movies and toured with Cedric the Entertainer, George Lopez and D.L. Hughley.