Living with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Wow, all this medical stuff can be confusing. First of all, it took the doctors a couple of days to determine what type of Leukemia he has. Leukemia is a disease of the blood. He has what is considered the most common A.L.L. It is caused by a rapid proliferation of immature lymphocytes, which would normally have developed into mature T or B cells. There are several subgroups of ALL. To determine the subgroup, doctors use the first sample of bone marrow taken from the child. This sample is analyzed to identify cellular characteristics to help plan the best treatment plan. Each subgroup has a different response to treatment; some require less chemotherapy, while others require aggressive treatment to acheive a cure. It was determined that Soren has ALL B cell type. Within these subgroups, there is a classification of high-risk, low-risk, and average-risk. He is considered Average-Risk, which, is not what we wanted but again we didn't have a choice. So being that he was classified, he entered the first phase called induction. It is the most important phase since its purpose is to kill as many abnormal white cells in the shortest amount of time possible. By the end of this phase 95% of children are in remission. He too was in remission by the end of this phase. He is now in the consolidation phase which consists of new combinations of drugs to destroy any cancer cells that have survived the induction phase. Because he is in the standard average risk they decided to be more aggresive with the chemo and medications. But thanks to all your prayers he is doing very well considering. His counts are not great but we have not had any major side effects. So due to the fact that he is in this phase we need to continue to isolate him from other children and adults who are not 100% HEALTHY. This has been a huge adjustment for all of us. It basically means we became a hermit family. It is very hard. I will often go to the grocery store and begin crying as I see other parents with their children, knowing that I can't take my son out. But I know it's only for the time being. It is still very difficult to deal with. As for Soren, he will ask for his friends every now and then. Thankfully he is too young so he really doesn't understand it all. Tim and I have became his friends; we play with him and he keeps us going. It is really amazing how tough he is!

P.S. I often get asked what causes LEUKEMIA ? Well I wish I had the answer! That was one of my first questions as well. Unfortunately, there is no answer to this very important question. I do know we are taking part in a couple of studies that we hope can make a difference, if not for our children but, our grandchildren or even great grandchildren. Just the thought of preventing another family from going through this is enough for us!