There eventually is enlargement of the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen. Common to all leukemias are the tendency to bleed and the resultant anemia and increased susceptibility to infection. The diagnosis of leukemia requires confirmation of leukemic cells in the bone marrow by bone marrow biopsy and aspiration.
River Phoenix's autopsy showed deadly levels of cocaine and morphine (heroin shows up as morphine, as it's metabolized by the body), Valium, marijuana and ephedrine. Ephedrine is the main ingredient found in crystal meth. Official cause of death was Acute multiple drug ingestion. River Phoenix was just 23 years old.
'Young, scared, and they didn't know what to do': New book alleges that River Phoenix would still be alive today if his celebrity friends called for help sooner. River Phoenix could be alive today if his brother and celebrity friends had got him help more quickly the night he died, a new book claims. The Stand By Me star should have been put in an ambulance straight away by his brother Joaquin and girlfriend Samantha Mathis when he started vomiting that Halloween in 1993.