Adulthood Leukemia

 Adulthood Leukemia - Detect Leukemia in Your Kid:

Speaking of cancer it is human silent killer. It will attack uncontrollably if its number (cell) multiplies rapidly.

Once they form massively it gives negative effect on usual operation of the adjoining tissue. At this point of time there must be action on treating this problem. If Lymphoma cancer this would not be treated well cancer cell would pass-through bloodstream reaching some body parts. This is what we call metastasis which is already very hard to control or to be cured.

We all have cancer cells scattered all over our body parts and no one spared of that silent killer. Young and old people can have it especially if our body immune system got weakens that could lower our resistance. Cancer problem on young generation are far more different than on older generations. The same medical procedures in fighting for it but different form when you look at it under the microscope. The chances are, younger generation responded better than the older one in terms of treatment.

Childhood and Adult Patients

Cancer is common on older people compared to younger people. Most likely mortality rate is higher on older people against younger ones. If we rate the chances of survival, 70% for the younger people and 30% for the elders. Sometimes it would goes up to 90% depends then on different types of cancer.

Reasons of Having Childhood Cancer

Cancer is not transmissible unlike AIDS. Disturbance to a cell's genes is one reason of cancer development.

On older people, one factor that contributed cancer is unhealthy lifestyle coming from different vices, carcinogen intake, too much sun exposure and a lot more. The reason of having childhood cancer is not yet known. There must be some reasons for this kind of cancer on our young generations but scientist never discovered yet what the cause is really.

Different types of Childhood Cancer

Leukemia: most common type of cancer on younger generation. There are more white blood cells than normal blood cells. These abnormal cell or leukemia developed earlier before reaching into maturity.

Different kinds of Leukemia

• Acute Lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL): The most common type victimizing usually children/young people. It would strike on bone morrow - which is our blood manufacturer. One common treatment is by Chemotherapy -a kind of drug that kills cancer cells. Another one is by radiotherapy - a high energy wave, like an x-ray. Survival rate of this kind of medication is greater than 70%.

• Acute myeloid leukemia (AML): Is less most common on younger generations though it can also be treated with chemotherapy and stem cell replacement. Chance of surviving is between 50% and 60%.

• Brain Tumors and Spinal Cord Tumors: This kind is second most common type of leukemia on affecting our younger children. In most cases casualty is greater than surviving from any form of medications because this is very hard to manage and be cured. It needs surgery as the first line of treatment and it depends on where the part of the central nervous system brains tumor grown-up. A series of chemotherapy and radiotherapy sessions could inevitable happen as a sort of follow-up medications. There are few who would survive depending on the status of the tumor (stages 1, 2, 3,) and the type of tumor.

Lymphoma Symptom

Lymphoma - Symptom to Look at Meant for:

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma begins when a lymphocyte, usually a B cell, becomes abnormal. The abnormal cell then starts to divide to replicate itself. The new cells divide repeatedly making more abnormal cells. These abnormal Lymphoma cancer cells don't die when they should, and don't protect the body from infections or other diseases. The buildup of extra cells often forms a growth or tumor.

Some symptoms to look out for are night sweats, swollen lymph nodes, and loss of appetite, fever, chest pain, coughing, weakness and fatigue that does not disappear, swelling of the abdomen or feeling of fullness. Sometimes these symptoms are not cancer related. If symptoms persist beyond two weeks, you should consult a doctor. Your doctor will do a physical exam to check for swollen lymphoma cancer  nodes in your neck, the doctor also checks for swollen spleen, and liver.

A blood test will show whether there is an increase in white blood cells, a decrease in platelets, and other cells and substances such as lactate dehydrogenate, which lymphoma can cause a higher level of LDH in the underarms and groin.

A chest x-ray will be performed at this time as well, along with a biopsy. The only sure way to confirm lymphoma is by a biopsy. The doctor may order an excision biopsy (an entire lymph node) or an incision biopsy (part of a lymph node). Removing the entire lymph node is best which can then be examined under a microscope.

There are many types of lymphoma; the most common types are diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and follicular lymphoma.

Lymphoma is classified by how fast they grow. Indolent or low-grade lymphomas grow slowly, and cause few symptoms. Aggressive or intermediate-grade and high grade are fast growing and spreading lymphomas. They cause severe symptoms, and indolent lymphomas can quickly turn into aggressive lymphomas. It is always good to get a second opinion and advice about treatment.

My experience about this deadly disease through watching my mother wasting away and finally passing from it was disturbing to say the least. This type of cancer does not spread itself in the brain, but it does affect the brain. Although my mother also had dementia as well as lymphoma her long-term memories stayed quite clear. Her short-term memory was more affected.

Near the end of her aggressively spreading lymphoma she slept most of the time. Although this disease took the life of my mother, her spirits were high, and she never complained about the pain she was in, and it was severe pain. She was a Christian woman who practiced her faith up to the end of her life.

Harvest to Facilitate

Harvest We Use to Facilitate Help Reduce Side Effects:

I would like to start by saying this is in no way meant to solicit you to buy the products we used for our little Emma. I am writing this to give you insight into what we did and what worked for all the side effects we were told would be part of her treatments.

Here is our story. On July 2, 2010, my wife took Emma (who was 4 ½ at the time) to a doctor's appointment lymphoma cancer because she looked a bit pale and we noticed a few spots on her neck that were not normal. Our doctor called a pediatrician and they advised us to get blood work done as soon as we could. This happened at our local hospital at 4pm and by 6pm we were back at the hospital where we were told that she had high risk B-cell ALL (an extremely high white blood count). Our lives changed in an instant as you are all aware. By 9pm, my wife and daughter were on their way to BC Children’s Hospital to start her treatments immediately.

For work, my wife and I operate a home based business as Independent Herb life Distributors (an International company in the Health and Wellness industry). I am telling you all this to show a few things. This disease has no prejudice as it will afflict anyone; young, old, healthy or ailing. Emma has never had any major ailments and very few simple colds ever since she was born. We started her on natural children's supplements, and she voluntarily started having a morning shake every day. This turned out to be a good thing because while she was in the hospital, she did not want to eat "real" food but we were able to keep her strength up with the good nutrition in the shakes. Of course we made sure with the doctors that what we were giving her was not conflicting with any of the medication she was getting.

Secondly we were able to keep working as our business is done on the internet, over the phone and other simple methods, which meant we did not have to take time off our "jobs" or leave them altogether to be with Emma during this time. We have heard about so many others that had financial hardships and job issues because of this. After speaking with other parents of children at the hospital and clinic, as well as others from our church that had children with the same affliction, we made the decision to have all Emma's treatments done where the care is the best, at BC Children’s Hospital. This meant that we needed to move off the island which was a tough but necessary move. Again we were able to do this with very little disruption to our business (which means our income as well), while always being available for Emma.

So here is what we have been doing for Emma over the past 9 months - I cannot believe it has been that long already - and what has been happening. Every morning she has an Herb life meal replacement shake made from ½ cup water and 1 cup milk. As lack of appetite is one of the side effects, we needed to make sure she was getting the appropriate nutrition for the day and as these provide it, we were glad that she would still have them. Another good thing is that while she is on steroids, she does not gain as much weight due to cravings caused by them. This shake has also given her a lot of energy which the doctors are very impressed about. Another side effect is nausea and constipation. For this, she is having Herbal Aloe Concentrate - which comes in regular or Mango flavor which she goes between depending on her tastes which changes when she has chemo treatments. This is a liquid that you drink which protects and heals your insides as well as prevent other internal issues. During one hospital visit, she was getting a high dose of Methotrexate and they decided to give her a stool softener and against our better judgment, we agreed. She developed blisters and burns on her bum due to this so bad that they prescribed Morphine for the pain. We increased the doses of Aloe, applied Vaseline and kept her clean, and within three days it was all cleared up. The doctors and nurses continue to be amazed at Emma's lack of side effects and at how well she handles her procedures. She is active and normally has a smile on her face; however she has the odd days where she gets tired and moody due to the drugs.

Harvest to Facilitate

Education to Survive

 Education to Survive With a Leukemia Diagnosis:

There are numerous symptoms of leukemia which you might notice after being diagnosed. Having said that, many people are not sure if they should be worried if they notice new symptoms. It's generally recommended that lymphoma cancer  call your leukemia doctor when you notice things like frequent fevers, night sweats, as well as being tired for no reason and they persist for more than a couple of weeks.

Other issues you might notice happening for two weeks that should tell you to call your physician include swollen glands or new lumps in the neck, groin area, as well as under an arm. If you notice you are starting to bruise quicker or start bleeding from your gums, then those are also signs.

Watchful waiting refers to a time period when a leukemia doctor regularly checks on a patient but is not doing anything to treat them. It can also be called surveillance as well as observation. The point of the period is to figure out whether or not you will develop any symptoms. For older adults, it can be a choice for treatment.

During the period, medical and blood tests will be taken as well as scans during standard doctor appointments. In certain cases, watchful waiting can actually give better results than aggressive early stage lymphoma cancer treatment. The truth is, many people that are suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia live for a reasonable amount of time with no treatment. When you are considering other leukemia types, watchful waiting will never be recommended.

Right after being diagnosed with leukemia, you may want to know who you can see about symptoms. Quite a few health professionals are capable, so you can go to any of them. These people include nurse practitioners, family medicine physicians, physician assistants, internists, and also pediatricians. The leukemia doctor that will actually diagnose you will be a hematologist or a medical oncologist.

Dependent on the type of leukemia you could have, your choices can vary. Should you be dealing with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, you will likely go through a period known as watchful waiting. In that time, the goal is usually to see what occurs with your symptoms. If you see things such as night sweats, frequent fevers, rapid weight loss, or swollen glands, you will need to call the doctor.

No matter whether you have currently been diagnosed with leukemia or you think you might have it; it's a good plan to find out who to see next. For people who haven't been diagnosed, you will be referred to a specialist that will be able to conclusively detect whether or not you are dealing with it. These kinds of professionals include medical oncologists and also hematologists.

Once you have been diagnosed, you will be able to get the help of others and won't be limited by just seeing a leukemia doctor. You'll be able to call a physician assistant, pediatrician, family medicine physician, or possibly a nurse in case you notice your signs and symptoms getting worse or lasting for over a couple of weeks.

Cancer Fighter .

 New T-Cell Treatment May Be a dominant Cancer Fighter: 

Researchers have been working hard to find a way to use the body's own t-cell's to fight cancer and destroy it. Clinical trials have been conducted and some people who were participants have gone into complete remission using this exciting and novel new approach. This is known as "gene therapy" and researchers have been working furiously for years trying to find ways to utilize the bodies own cells to be reprogrammed to fight and destroy cancer cells.

A clinical trial held at The University of Pennsylvania involved providing this treatment to participants who suffered from leukemia. One participant in particular, a man who had suffered from leukemia participated in the trial and it turned his life around for the better. Chemotherapy was no longer effective for his disease. A few weeks after this treatment, he was in complete remission with no trace of lymphoma cancer to be found. It is now a year later and he is still completely cancer free. There were an additional two patients who participated in this trial. One had another complete remission of the leukemia and the third participant had a partial remission result. These results are extremely promising and plans are being made for further gene therapy trials.

The Procedure: This trial involved the removal of billions of a person's T-cells. T- Cells are one of the white cells in the human body whose function is to fight and destroy viruses and tumors. Once these t-cells are removed they are genetically reprogrammed with new genes. These new genes actually teach the t-cells to seek out and destroy cancer in the human body. They are then reinvested back into the patient.

The doctors who are part of the trial are not stating yet that this is a cure. They say the treatment is still experimental and has only involved a few patients. This trial has been written about in The New England Journal of Medicine and Science Translational Medicine. Many researchers are very excited about it and feel it is a significant achievement in the field of gene therapy to fight cancer.

This procedure basically was able to use a person's own immune system to kill cancer cells. Researchers are now trying to determine if other types of cancer might also be responsive to this gene therapy.

The doctors leading this study and trial said they were also stunned by the results of complete remission. Although this is still experimental at this point, researchers hope to replicate this study again and see how it responds to other types of cancer.

Tumor Destruction by T-cells: Scientists are trying to determine how to make these modified t-cells destroy tumors. This particular research study done at The University of Pennsylvania appears to have been able to accomplish this by leaving a population of "memory" t-cells" within the body that will be able to remultiply when needed, as they will recognize the development of cancerous cells.

This gene therapy concept of genetically modifying the body's t-cells really began in the 1980s with research conducted in Israel. Over the years much research has continued to occur in this area and it appears that scientists are making great progress. Researchers are hopeful that one day soon, these "cancer killer" t-cells" will effectively destroy cancer and be available as a therapy option for people suffering from this dreadful disease.

Potential Dangers of T-Cell Therapy: Although this research is incredibly promising there are certain dangers still inherent to it. A person may become venerable to infection because the treatment will destroy both healthy and cancerous cells simultaneously, in this leukemia case wiping out a patient's entire B-cell population. Doctors are providing these patients with precautions such as periodic infusions of immune building substances to prevent infections from occurring.

Another danger could be the overwhelming number of cancer cells that can die off all at once. This can overwhelm the liver and kidneys and lead to "tumor lyses", a potentially deadly reaction. Doctors are working on this problem by providing drugs which will help protect the kidneys while this process is occurring.

Additionally there may be other reactions which may be life threatening because everybody is unique and the modified t-cells can target cancer cells anywhere in the body. Therefore if there is cancer in the lungs, the lungs may become overwhelmed and the patient can develop breathing problems which can be dangerous. Additionally side effect reactions that occur from this treatment include high fevers and inflammation.

The Future: Researchers are very excited about the future of genetically modified t-cell therapy in treating and even destroying cancer. Although it may be years away, the hope is to perfect the therapy and make it available to anyone who may benefit from it. Many hurdles still exist including how this treatment could be massed produced by the pharmaceutical industry. Until that time, researchers continue to work hard and are grateful for the astonishing results of complete remission they have already achieved in several patients suffering from leukemia.