Tag Archives: leukemia

Food and Drug Administration Approves Gleevec

The Food and Drug Administration has approved of the use of a drug called Gleevec for children who have acute lymphoblastic leukemia. It has previously been approved to treat adult patients with several conditions. Gleevec is marketed by Novartis. On January 25, 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved of the use of a drug called Gleevec for children who have acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Gleevec is also called imatinib. It has been specifically approved to treat kids who have been newly diagnosed with Philadelphia chromosome positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia. (ALL). ALL is a fast-growing cancer of the white … Continue reading →

Manti Te’o and the Girlfriend that Wasn’t – Part 2

So by now, you’ve probably heard all the jokes going around about Manti Te’o and the dead girlfriend hoax.  They are calling it “Te’oing.” When I last blogged, I told you about the tragic story of Te’o’s girlfriend who died last year in the middle of football season of leukemia.  The only thing is she wasn’t real. This week, he and Notre Dame both released statements saying Te’o was the victim of a “sad and very cruel deception.” Now the questions are – who did this and was Te’o in on it?  The “who did it” seems to point to … Continue reading →

Seven Year Old Cancer Patient Meets Justin Bieber

Millie Flamm is seven years old. She had concert tickets to see Justin Bieber, but was too sick to attend and had to sell the tickets. To make it up to her, Justin Bieber came to visit her and her family in private before the concert. There certainly seem to be a lot of little girls who adore Justin Bieber! Millie Flamm is one of them. She is seven years old, and was going to attend his concert at the Energy Solutions Arena, in Utah. Unfortunately, her cancer relapsed two weeks before the concert, and she was too sick to … Continue reading →

Girl Removed from Hospital Might be in Mexico

A mother removed her daughter from a hospital in Arizona. The girl has leukemia and a catheter in her heart. This could lead to very serious issues if the girl gets an infection. Now, it appears that the girl may be in Mexico. The information is unclear, and police are still uncertain of where the girl is at. Norma Bracamontes is the mother of an eleven year old daughter who has leukemia. Her daughter, who is being called “Emily” in the media, was in the Phoenix Children’s Hospital. She was there for about a month, and was receiving chemotherapy. An … Continue reading →

Mom Removes Daughter with Leukemia from Hospital

A mother has removed her eleven year old daughter from a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. The child has leukemia. She also has a heart catheter in place, and could die if she doesn’t go back to the hospital soon. At the time I am writing this blog, police do not know where the child has been taken to. Leukemia is a serious condition. It is the cancer of the blood forming tissues in the body, including the bone marrow, and the lymphatic system. There are many types of leukemia, including some forms that are more common in children than in … Continue reading →

Involvement in My Sister’s Keeper

Having read the book My Sister’s Keeper I was looking forward to seeing the movie. Did it live up to my expectations? Yes and no. It certainly works well as a movie and is worth seeing. I’m glad I saw it. It’s a powerful movie that raises lots of questions. Even though I knew the storyline, it involved me totaly in the story of Sara(Cameron Diaz) and Brian Fitzgerald (Jason Patric) and their family. For those of you who don’t know, Sara and Brian find out their daughter Kate (Sofia Vassilieva) has Leukemia. The only hope of helping her appears … Continue reading →

The Ultimate Gift (2006)

Based on the faith-affirming novel by James Stovall, “The Ultimate Gift” is the story of one young man’s quest for a life of fun and his grandfather’s dreams of a better future for him. Jason Stevens (Drew Fuller) has never had to work for anything in his life. He’s got a trust fund, a mother who doles out money like candy, and he’s living large. His girlfriend loves his easy spending habits, and together they party until dawn with little thought about others. When Jason’s grandfather, Red (James Garner) passes away, the family gathers around like vultures, wanting to know … Continue reading →

Risk Factors for Leukemia

Doctors often can’t explain why one person develops leukemia and another person does not. Research has pointed to certain risk factors that can increase a person’s chances of developing this cancer, even though the exact causes are still a mystery. Exposure to high levels of radiation. This includes people who have been exposed to nuclear power plant accidents and atomic bomb detonations. This also includes people who have been exposed to extremely high levels of radiation as part of a medical treatment. Most radiation used for diagnosis is a very low level and is not linked to leukemia. Exposure to … Continue reading →

Types of Leukemia

Your bone marrow produces three types of blood cell: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Red blood cells carry oxygen through the body. White blood cells help fight infection. Platelets help with clotting. In people with leukemia, the bone marrow produces abnormal white blood cells. These abnormal cells may work normally at first, but can crowd out normal, healthy blood cells and make it difficult for blood to do its work. Leukemia can be divided into two groups, depending on how quickly the disease develops and progresses: Chronic leukemia gets worse slowly. Abnormal blood cells can still do … Continue reading →

A Summer to Die – Lois Lowry

Meg is not as beautiful or popular as her older sister Molly. She has always envied her sister’s golden hair, perfect complexion, and the way all the boys look at her. Meg’s the smart one, she is told, but that doesn’t do a whole lot to boost Meg’s self-confidence when she feels like she’ll never be pretty. Meg’s father is asked to write a book. Unable to work in town, he moves his family out to a small house in the country, and Meg and Molly must share a room. This is hard on both girls – Molly wants her … Continue reading →