KESJ: 6 January 2010

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

6 January 2010

T+113

First hospital visit for this year, and the doctor continues to be pleased with Jeremy's progress. We are thankful that his blood counts are OK and his weight is healthy.

Since Jeremy has put on 300gms since last Wednesday, the doctor suggested that this week we alternate between nasogastric feeds one night and nothing the next night (ie. not even water through his nasogastric tube) and see how his eating and drinking goes. Jeremy was thrilled when we told him that he would not be hooked up tonight - he cheekily said that he would "muck up" in his room when he woke up in the morning!

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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.