On September 8, 2011, our five and a half year old son Derek was diagnosed with Pre-T-cell Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. My posts since then have focused on our journey.
ALL Facts
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood that progresses rapidly without treatment. That's why it's important to start treatment soon after diagnosis.
ALL is the most common type of cancer in children from 1 to 7 years old.
There are several ALL subtypes.
The type of treatment you receive and your treatment outcome depend on your ALL subtype and individual risk factors.
Derek is considered to be high risk because of his subtype (Pre-T ALL) and his extremely high white blood count at diagnosis (245,000). He had nearly 100% blast cells at diagnosis.
Derek's Chemotherapy Phase Protocol includes:
1. Induction - Completed October 17, 2011
36 Days
Goal: Bring disease into total remission.
Derek acheived remission by day 15 - 0% blasts
2. Consolidation with study drug Nelarabine - Completed January 18, 2012
78 Days - estimated
88 Days - actual because of the pancreatitis delay
3. Interim Maintenance with High Dose Methotrexate - Completed April 1, 2012
56 Days - estimated
75 Days - actual because of RSV and not meeting minimum blood counts
4. Delayed Intensification - Completed May 31, 2012
64 Days
5. Maintenance - Relapsed June 13, 2014
2 1/2 years
Stem Cell Transplant - September 10, 2014
Nearly three years to the day of Derek's first chemotherapy.
Recurrence as T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma - Confirmed February 26, 2016
Derek passed away on August 24, 2016.
