Laquisha Bond
Awareness of Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia in Children Imagine waiting anxiously with your child at the hematologist. Suddenly, there is a knock on the door and your child?s doctor enters the room. According to lab results, there are 20% blast cells in the bone marrow resulting in a definitive diagnosis of Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia accounts for 80% of all childhood leukemia?s. ALL generally occurs in children younger than 15 years of age (Turgeon 316). Awareness of ALL requires an understanding of its causes, symptoms, and treatments. ALL, the most prevalent form of childhood acute leukemia, is a blood cancer. Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia occurs when bone marrow cells develop errors in its DNA (Mayo Clinic). Consequently, cell proliferation occurs without dividing; therefore, resulting in abnormal blood cell production. The bone marrow produces immature cells that develop into leukemic white blood cells called lymphoblasts (Mayo Clinic). Incapable of functioning properly, abnormal cells
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The main treatment for children with ALL is chemo, which has 3 phases: induction, consolidation, and maintenance (American Cancer Society). The goal of induction is to bring remission. Leukemia cells are no longer found in bone marrow samples and counts are normal. More than 95% of children with ALL go into remission after 1 month of treatment (American Cancer Society). Consolidation involves diminishing leukemic cells in obscure places. Several drugs are used to facilitate this process, depending on the child?s risk category. Children may benefit from a stem cell transplant at this time (American Cancer Society). Maintenance occurs if leukemia stays in remission successfully after receiving first two phases of treatment. The total length of therapy for all three phases is two to three years for most children with ALL (American Cancer
Treatment depends on number of factors like the health of a person and their age, treatments can be very strenuous on the body but almost no surgery is required. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy o combined making treatment for lymphoma very effective and giving it a high survival rate.
The first question I expect to be asked by every interviewer is "why anesthesiology now?" In 2012, after 6 years of post-graduate training, I was thrilled and elated to finally became a board-certified pediatric hematologist/oncologist. Three years later, I am ready to go back to residency. Pediatric hematology/oncology was one of my earliest rotations as a third year medical student and I fell in love with the pathology and, of course, the kids. After that rotation, I, perhaps naively, didn 't give much thought to other specialties and focused solely on pediatrics, going on to complete my pediatrics residency at the University of Michigan, followed by fellowship at the University of Colorado. Now, three years after my transition into post-training practice, I have come to realize the realities of pediatric specialized medicine are not what I expected when I chose this career.
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].
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the worlds largest non-profit organization which funds blood cancer research and providing patient services and education. The LLS mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma and myeloma and to improve quality of patients and there families. This is done by discovering new cures and making blood cancers a story of the past.The organizations national office is located in White Plains, NY. Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has local chapters through out the United States and Canada.
“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.
There are many different types of treatment but the main ones include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. However, sometimes children’s immunes systems rid themselves of neuroblastoma before anything needs to be done. Therefore, doctors prefer to give the tumor a little bit of time, depending on the seriousness, before taking unnecessary actions. Surgery is often done for many types of cancer and can be a very successful treatment. Despite this fact, “ . . . most neuroblastoma is not found until after the cancer has spread. In that situation, the doctor removes as much of the tumor as possible during surgery” ("Neuroblastoma - Childhood: Treatment Options"). If the tumor cannot be completely removed by surgery, sometimes doctors will advise chemotherapy or radiation to eliminate the rest. Chemotherapy can also be effective but can have some unwanted side effects. “Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells, usually by stopping the cancer cells’ ability to grow and divide . . . The side effects of chemotherapy depend on the individual and the dose used, but they can include fatigue, risk of infection, nausea and vomiting, hair loss, loss of appetite, and diarrhea” ("Neuroblastoma - Childhood: Treatment Options"). The doctor and parents may believe that the potential side effects could be too dangerous for a young child to endure. Another treatment option includes the use of radioactive energy. It is explained, “Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy x-rays or other particles to destroy cancer cells . . . radiation therapy can sometimes cause problems with the normal growth and development of a child’s brain and the ovaries (in girls) or testicles (in boys) . . .” ("Neuroblastoma - Childhood: Treatment Options"). Alike to chemotherapy, the side effects may be too severe for young children. The possibility of stunting a child’s brain growth can seem to harsh.
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.
- Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL): is a cancer of the bone marrow and the blood that progresses rapidly without treatment. This cancer is very common in children 1 to 19 years old. ALL affects the blood cells and immune system. It is very important to start treatment as soon as possible after diagnosis.
Chronic Myeloid leukemia (CML) is a blood and bone marrow disease that slowly progresses. The disease usually occurs in middle aged or older individuals and rarely occurs in children. In CML, an unusually high number of blood stem cells become granulocytes. These granulocytes, also called leukemia cells are irregular in shape and do not develop into healthy white blood cells. Eventually, they concentrate in the blood leaving no room for healthy cells which may lead to infection, anemia, or bleeding. The typical signs of CML include fatigue, fever, night sweats, and weight loss (6).
Infant Leukaemia: A Report From The Children's Oncology Group." Paediatric & Perinatal Epidemiology 25.6 (2011): 559-565. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Jan. 2014.
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.
Most of the side effects of chemotherapy go away once treatment is finished. Until your child's treatment is finished, it is important to work closely with your child's team of health care providers and take an active role in managing your child's side effects at home. There are things
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 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). .
How does one see the symptoms for childhood cancer? First one must know that there are many different types. There are forty different types of children’s cancer, including: Leukemia, Lymphoma, Sarcomas, cancers of the nervous system, liver cancers, kidney cancer, and more. Out of these cancers, the two most common childhood cancers are Leukemia, and brain tumors. What is leukemia? It is a cancer in which the bone marrow and other organs that produce blood produce and increased amount of immature or abnormal white blood cells. The symptoms of leukemia are paleness, excessive bruising, pain in the joints, and fatigue. Brain tumors are formed when a massive amount of cells are produced on the brain. The symptoms for this are frequent headaches, vomiting, seizures, decreased coordination, weakness, and problems concerning vision.