Childhood’s most prevalent disease: It’s not what you think

Chloe laughed from her belly. A Popsicle left its mark on a yellow sunflower dress, and pigtails of dirty blonde curls dusted her cheeks as she walked. She had a gap between her front teeth, and when she smiled, her dark green eyes disappeared in a squint. She told me several times, “I’m going be a princess!” “Which one?” I’d ask. She’d throw her favorite blanket on her head and point to the smiling Cinderella. Chloe’s kindergarten teacher saw bruises at recess earlier that day. Suspecting abuse, she brought the five-year-old to a medical clinic after school. We found swollen lymph nodes in her armpits and groin and called the child’s mother. A bone test the next day confirmed leukemia, childhood’s most common cancer. Treatment began. Progress in the battle against childhood leukemia Until the 1960s, all kids with Chloe’s type of cancer died within one year of diagnosis. But little by little, research advanced. Eventually, scientists found vincristine. The United States Food and Drug Administration approved the miracle drug in 1963, and today, therapies with vincristine cure 80 percent of kids with leukemia. But when Chloe started vincristine, her dad was in jail. Her mom, between jobs and with a newborn boy, rinsed the baby’s paper diapers in the sink. “They’re just too expensive to throw away,” she said. Chloe’s mother kept her inside as her immune system recovered from chemotherapy. But Chloe wasn’t upset. She was used to staying indoors. ...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: All posts Source Type: news