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Questions about leukemia~



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Tue Feb 19, 2013 3:02 pm
LadySpark says...



I'm plotting out a new novel, which is about a boy dying from leukemia and told from the POV of his mother, who is left behind. But I need all the information I can be given about acute lymphoblastic leukemia*. I need to know what the chances are that a seven year old boy (age subject to change, between five and eight) would die from it, and what treatment would be the least likely to work. I've been googling stuff, but the medical journals are terribly vague about how it can end. They mostly talk about treatments.

Would it be better for the little boy to go into remission and then the cancer return? Or should it have progressed so far there's no stopping it?

Also, what are the symptoms of leukemia? Besides the bruising and bleeding, the joint pain etc etc. Would the patient be able to keep any food down? Would the patient have spurts of energy and then be very tired other times?

Basically, I need to know everything you can tell me about leukemia.

links, opinions, basically anything is welcome.

Thanks for your help! xx

*I'm open to any cancer that would be harder to treat, I'm also considering changing it to Hemophilia or Sickle Cell anemia or something like that.
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Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:27 pm
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Tenyo says...



About:
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/leukaemia- ... ction.aspx

Symptoms:
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Leukaemia- ... ptoms.aspx

Statistics:
http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer- ... -leukaemia
This includes survival statistics and what other factors affect the survival rate.

Stories: http://www.leukemiabmtprogram.org/patie ... index.html
These are a few of other peoples stories that will probably give you a better idea of what the whole experience is like.
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Fri Mar 29, 2013 8:09 pm
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Rosendorn says...



Just to add (even though this thread is relatively old):

Some strands of leukaemia can only be cured through bone marrow transplants. I think it's a particular genetic variant, but it does exist. Even if people know they require a bone marrow transplant, that means finding a donor. That can be incredibly difficult.

Also, children's leukaemia is sometimes cured through stem cell transplants, which are gotten from umbilical cords.

I knew one kid with leukaemia (age 8 ), and it progressed to blood cancer. That's really what ended up killing him.
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