Alexis Champagne
English III
Lori Liverman
April 1, 2014
Childhood Leukemia
Childhood leukemia is a challenging disease with many treatment options that affects many families around the world today. Childhood leukemia is a disease that was discovered during the 1800s that today has many different types of treatments. Childhood leukemia is a devastation that many families must work together with the support of doctors to comfort the individual that is facing the disease.
Leukemia is a “cancer of the blood or bone marrow (which produces blood cells). A person who has leukemia suffers from abnormal production of blood cells, generally leukocytes (white blood cells) (N.p., n.d. Web).
The first discovery of Leukemia was around the time in the 4th or 5th century B.C.E. by a man named John Hughes Bennett and was believed too be found in a dinosaur bone (History of Leukemia). One of the most common types back then would have been arsenic. Arsenic is a “condition caused by ingestion, absorption or inhalation of dangerous levels” (History of Leukemia). It can be found around the world in groundwater. Some of the patients symptoms may have been things like fevers, night sweats, bone pain, swelling and pain the left side, and feeling very drowsy without having a reason why. When people would get chemotherapy (drugs injected to the vein) the resistance to tolerance may have gone up. Only because the patients immune system would be involved with infections.
To determine the patients treatment there would have to be some testing done. The first thing the doctor may to is a physical exam. The patients doctor would look for things like physical signs of leukemia such as pale skin, swelling of lymph nodes or swelling of liver and spleen. Pa...
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...xt of pediatric cancer treatment/research, conducted parent interviews, and administered clinician questionnaires to examine these issues” with the 14 children. Some of the parents were asked some of the similar questions but were asked much less (Quinn, Olechnowicz Joseph, Eder Michelle, Simon Christian, Zyzanski Stephen, and Kodish Eric).
If the patient does not survive through it all the same people such as the patients doctor, or a therapist to help the family through that difficult time (Long-Term Outlook.).
In conclusion for Leukemia with children, since it is a challenging disease there aren’t much things doctors are able to do. Though they are working on new way to help fight it all off, it also depends on your body and how well it may affect it. Having the patient’s family there can and will possible may help through it all and hope for a good outcome.
Pediatric oncology has been so very rewarding in many ways, but also so very cruel in a few ways. The good days are great, but the sad days are heartbreaking. But beyond the death and the suffering, there is a whole other layer of
Progress and innovation are key components to discover new possibilities to fight against childhood cancer. To begin with, my interest in healthcare sparked when I was diagnosed with childhood sarcoma cancer at the age of seven. As a cancer
Cancer.org. (2014). Treatment of children with acute lymphocytic leukemia. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/leukemiainchildren/detailedguide/childhood-leukemia-treating-children-with-all [Accessed: 7 Apr 2014].
Over one million Americans in the United States are living with or have been diagnosed with leukemia. That’s a big amount of people. I chose to do my research paper on leukemia because two years ago I lost my grandma to the cancer. I wanted to know more about the disease and what was happening to her. I researched the different types, risk factors, symptoms, treatment, and what kind of research is being done to help cure leukemia. Leukemia is a cancer of the blood cells that start in the bone marrow. During leukemia the bone marrow starts to make a lot of abnormal white blood cells or “leukemia cells”.
“The word 'leukemia' is a very frightening word. In many instances, it's a killer and it's something that you have to deal with in a very serious and determined way if you're going to beat it” - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Many people, including tons of children, fight leukemia every day trying to beat this vicious cancer. Without knowing how leukemia is exactly caused, it puts a damper on how to avoid it.
The Phase I trial will be discussed here as it pertains to the topic at hand. The typical treatment for cervical cancer if surgery is not a viable option – like if the cancer has spread, then called locally advanced cervical cancer – is chemotherapy and radiation treatment at the same time. This phase I clinical trial is simply looking to add ipilimumab to this regimen, but once the chemo/radiation has been completed (LACC article). Chemo and radiation destroy tumor cells, which causes tumor-associated antigens to be released. Once released, these antigens are exogenous (outside the cell) and will be presented to helper T cells to initiate an immune response.
Pediatric Oncology is at the heart of many organizations. There are many financial and emotional burdens associated with a loved one having cancer, and thanks to these foundations parents and children can sleep a little bit better at night knowing that someone has their back. Some of the more prominent groups that have an impact here in our community are: Alliance for Childhood Cancer, Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation, CURE Childhood Cancer, and National Cancer Institute (Mccaul). These are organizations that make an impact in the lives of the children battling cancer and their families. Whether an organization has been started in memory of a loved one or to support a college or hospital, organizations like those listed above have
Steen, Grant R. and Joseph Mirro. Childhood Cancer: A Handbook From St.Jude Children's Research Hospital . Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publisher, 2000.
the patient's life and feelings to get an understanding of what the patient goes through on
Leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells. It begins in the bone marrow, the soft tissue inside the bones. Within the bone marrow is where white blood cells are created, that help fight off bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms within the body that cause infections. The disease develops to when the white blood cells are being produced out of control. The cells that are being produced do not work properly as they should, they grow faster than a normal cell would and don’t know when to stop growing. Overtime, if not treated properly, the white blood cells will over crowd blood cells, creating a serious problem such as anemia, bleeding and infection. Leukemia cells can spread to the lymph nodes and other organs in the body causing swelling and pain.
Leukemia like any other cancer is devastating especially when it affects children and especially when they are too young to understand most of what is happening to their bodies. Facts like these are what should be used to motivate researchers and caregivers to help to make the process of treatment and care for patient dealing with disease one that is pleasant and supportive. The research should be taken seriously and it is hoped that in the future a cure can be found and the cause of the disease can be explained. It is also hoped that achievements like those can give families who are coping with disease or who have lost loved ones to the disease can find closure and solace in knowing that other may not have to go through what they have.
Puckett , P., Hinds, P., & Milligan, M. M. (1996). Who supports you when your patient dies?. RN, 59(10), 48-50, 52-3. doi: 1996037794
Kids are meant to be happy, play outside, go to school, and have fun. They aren’t meant to sit in hospitals, losing weight by the pound, carrying around IV poles filled with poison. It’s ridiculous and immature that we don’t have a cure for childhood cancer. The only “treatment” that we have is chemotherapy- a chemical that seems to help fight off cancer. Chemo doesn’t just fight off cancer cells though- it fights off healthy cells in your blood, mouth, digestive system, and hair follicles. The most frustrating thing about childhood cancer is that only 4% of federal funding is exclusively dedicated to childhood cancer research. It is true that more adults get diagnosed with cancer than kids, but does that mean that adults are 96% more important than children? The average age of diagnosis for an adult with cancer is age 67, and the average number of years lost is 15. 15 years are definitely many years, but not that many compared to the average number of years lost for a child- 71. Also, age 67 is a lot older than the average age of diagnoses for a child- age 6. At least the adults get to grow up and have the ability to even have cancer- some of these kids can’t even get through a fifth of their lives.
No matter who it happens to, any type of cancer is heart breaking. However, one’s heart seems to crack a little bit deeper when you hear a child has been diagnosed. Several forms of cancer can arise during childhood. The most common is called acute lymphoblastic/lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). In fact, it is so common between the ages 0-14, that people refer to it as childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Kanwar, 2013).
When one hears the word “cancer”, thoughts about how their previous life is about to change cloud the mind, but when one hears the word cancer for their child, it is a whole different outlook; the affects of childhood cancer are not only taken on by the patients, but also by their families; the affects can range from emotionally to physically, socially to financially, and even educationally. “Childhood cancer is considered rare, especially compared with adults. Still it’s the leading cause of death in children pre-adolescent, school-aged children” (Report: Childhood Cancer Rates Continue to Rise, but Treatment Helps Drive Down Deaths). Around 12,000 children in the United States are diagnosed with cancer every year and around one in five children that are diagnosed with cancer will die.