KESJ: 29 September 2009

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

29 September 2009

Today is 2 weeks post transplant!

This last week has been very tough for Jeremy. The high fevers continued today, and he had another platelet transfusion and red blood cell transfusion. Tonight he has 2 drip poles, 7 drips/pumps and 8 lines connected to him! Due to all these fluids going into him, his face is quite puffy from fluid retention and hopefully he can excrete the excess fluid soon. The results of yesterday's CT scan (fungogram) came back clear, so he doesn't have a fungal infection. However, he still does not have white blood cells yet ...

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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.