It is a form of cancer of the white blood cells. In this condition the bone marrow makes immature lymphocytes. Despite the seriousness of the condition many myths have mushroomed around the condition. And these myths should not be followed blindly. Mentioned ahead are the popular myths about the acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Adult treatment therapies are not very effective in treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia in childrenThere is no denying the fact that adult treatments cause a plethora of undesired effects when used for growing children. However, with the increase in the number of therapies which are adept at removing the damaged cells while leaving the healthier ones intact, children have benefited tremendously. Nowadays, a good number of hospitals allow their pediatric patients to access adult therapies. Although, children affected by acute lymphoblastic leukemia, in certain cases, may be treated using adult therapies, yet their emotional and social needs are addressed through age appropriate systems.Most drugs used in treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia are more than twenty years oldALL had claimed several lives prior to 1970. Recent developments in treatment therapies for ALL have ensured that children diagnosed with the disease get to live a healthy and successful life. There has been a 58% rise in ALL survival rates compared to the scenario twenty years back. With improvements in diagnosis and treatment, the cure rate for pediatric patients affected by ALL has exceeded 80%. Moreover, doctors have now started using risk adapted treatment protocols to improve cure rates. The medical community, on the other hand, has tried its best to limit the toxicity of various therapies.Radiation and chemotherapy are the two main treatment methods for ALLIn recent times, gene therapies have shown great results in the treatment of children affected by acute lymphoblastic leukemia. By getting antibodies to harness the immune cells of the body, doctors can create genetically modified drugs that affect the lymphoblastic cells. Better known as cell therapy, the treatment process essentially targets the damaged cells and reduces the side effects. Moreover, it provides pediatric oncologists with a newer and better option. Researchers are trying to find newer ways in which T cells can be used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia. While gene therapy as a possible solution to ALL is a relatively new option, yet it might minimize the need for chemotherapy and radiation in future.Children can only be treated for solid tumors and not leukemia of white blood cellsFor those who believed the above myth to be true, here is a piece of insider’s information: the survival rate for ALL is on the rise. According to researchers, ten and five year survival rates for children affected by acute lymphoblastic leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma are approximately 90%. The rates of survival for solid tumors, on the other hand, have shown very little improvement in the past few years. Hence, there is no reason to believe that only children with solid tumors have a chance of surviving while those affected by white blood cell diseases like ALL are not equally lucky.Acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivors may never be able to lead a healthy and normal lifeA majority of children affected by ALL go on to live a successful and healthy life. In fact, several of the survivors have even been able to bear children. Life programs and support systems help kids remain kids, even when they are undergoing treatment. In the U.S., hospitals specializing in the treatment of ALL offer school facilities so that children can keep a tab on their academics. Ski trips and special summer camps are organized on a regular basis to help the pediatric patients gain confidence. Survivor clinics primarily monitor patients for deterioration in health conditions resulting from treatments. Moreover, it is also their responsibility to ensure that newer cancers, if the patient is suffering from any, are detected years after the completion of treatment formalities.Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is inheritedIt would be wrong to presume that ALL runs in families. ALL is the most important of all leukemia varieties. The disease occurs when there is an uncontrolled and abnormal growth of cells. The cancer begins in the lymphocyte cells before spreading to other areas of the body. The risk factors for ALL are not yet known. Although genetic makeup has a direct connection to the occurrence of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, yet it cannot be associated with heredity. The disease is acquired by the affected person during his lifetime and has nothing to do with the patient’s family history.Acute lymphoblastic leukemia will relapse laterIt cannot be claimed with 100% conviction that ALL will relapse later in life. Research shows that children between the ages of 3 and 11 years are likely to have a better and more favorable prognosis. Depending on the prognosis, patients affected by ALL even go on to lead a cancer-free, healthy life. Surprising as it may sound, yet girls show a more favorable response to prognosis as compared with boys. The reason for this prognostic difference continues to remain under wraps. However, patients showing WBC count in the initial stages are likely to come down with poorer prognosis. For them, the chances of a relapse remain high. Others, though, need not worry thinking that ALL is an incurable disease and that it will return sooner or later to haunt them.Some symptoms are enough to indicate the presence of Acute Lymphoblastic LeukemiaNo conclusion about a particular disease, let alone acute lymphoblastic leukemia, can ever be arrived at through mere observation of the symptoms. The most common symptoms for ALL include paleness, fatigue, bone pain, bruising, and abdominal swelling. These symptoms are common to certain other diseases as well. Hence, there is no way of judging whether the person or child is indeed suffering from ALL by taking a look at the symptoms alone. There are several methods available to diagnose the disease. Normally, the session begins with a series of physical examinations where the doctor checks the patient for signs of enlarged liver or enlarged lymph nodes. Next, the patient is made to undergo a myriad of blood tests and bone marrow biopsy sessions. It is only after the completion of such diagnostic formalities that the doctor can declare the disease in his patient.Children affected by acute lymphoblastic leukemia have to go under the knifeThat the treatment for ALL requires surgery is nothing but a piece of myth. In reality, surgery has a small role in the overall treatment of ALL. The very nature of the disease limits the scope for surgery. Leukemia cells travel to different parts of the body through blood. Hence, there is little that surgery can do to erase the irregularities produced in a condition like this. Apart from minor lymph node biopsies, surgery is rarely performed by doctors handling a case of ALL. At the beginning of the chemotherapy session, doctors perform surgery to insert a tubular object called catheter into a vein. The device is left in place for the entire course of the treatment process. This makes the possibility of a surgery during ALL treatment all the more bleak.Acute lymphoblastic leukemia affects only childrenWhile ALL is the most common form of cancer in children, adults may also get affected by the disease. The treatment process for both pediatric and adult patients remains more or less the same. What varies is the margin of social and emotional support. ALL mostly affects adults in the age group of 60 to 65 years. The risk factors for adults include smoking and exposure to heat and radiation. Adult patients have shown a cure rate of 45% to 60%. Moreover, in the year 2005, close to 3,970 people were diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, of which nearly 40% were adults.Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is contagiousThere could not have been another rumor more illogical and potentially harmful than the one referred to above. ALL is primarily a cancer of white blood cells. There is nothing in the nature of the disease to suggest that it can become contagious. In case of identical twins, though, if one sibling comes down with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the other may get affected as well. However, this has got more to do with the genetic make up of the twins, rather than contagiousness. Moreover, there are several risk factors for ALL and contagiousness figures nowhere among them.
