KESJ: 17 July 2011

Sunday, July 17, 2011

17 July 2011

T+670

After church, we went to the Redkite Swans Family Day at the Sydney Football Stadium. This year, Stephanie and Jeremy had worked hard on their banner and were proud to win first prize in the banner competition! Unfortunately, the Sydney Swans didn't do as well in their match against the Freemantle Dockers!

Stephanie and Jeremy were happy to be part of a guard of honour as the Sydney Swans ran onto the Sydney Cricket Ground. We were pleased to see other Camperdown Ward survivors looking so well and to chat with their parents again.

Only a month to go before Jeremy has (hopefully) his last bone marrow aspirate on 17 August 2011.

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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.