KESJ: 29 May 2009

Friday, May 29, 2009

29 May 2009

We are thankful that Jeremy is coping OK with this week's chemo. One chemo is bright blue - the nurses call it Smurf Chemo! He is still happy and cheeky to the nurses, and likes to go outside and play in the hospital playground when the nurses (and the rain) allow him out! Hopefully, if he doesn't have a fever, he can go home tomorrow. We will meet with the bone marrow transplant team in a couple of weeks for a serious discussion of his treatment options.

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Definitions

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) - a rapidly progressing cancer of the blood and bone marrow. ALL affects the type of developing white blood cells known as lymphocytes. It is the most common form of childhood leukaemia, and the most common type of childhood cancer. It also occurs in adults.

Blast cells - immature blood cells normally found in the bone marrow. Blast cells normally constitute up to 5% of all bone marrow cells. These cells divide and replenish all the normal blood cells in the marrow and circulating blood. Acute leukaemia is characterised by an accumulation of abnormal blast cells that take over the marrow and spill out into the blood stream.

Bone marrow transplant - the process of replacing bone marrow cells (stem cells) that are unhealthy, with stem cells that are healthy. The healthy stem cells are re-infused intravenously through the central line, after very strong chemotherapy and/or radiation to kill unhealthy stem cells. The re-infusion of healthy stem cells essentially rescues the patient from the chemotherapy and/or radiation, by enabling his or her bone marrow to start producing new blood cells.