Childhood leukemia is the most common form of cancer in children. The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center based in Houston estimates that more than 3,500 children are diagnosed with leukemia every year in the United States. Leukemia affects the white blood cells of the immune system, causing children with this condition to experience symptoms that include anemia, recurrent infection, fever and fatigue. Speak with your child's oncologist to discuss what treatment options are available for childhood leukemia.
Chemotherapy
If your child has leukemia, your doctor may recommend a form of cancer treatment called chemotherapy--or chemo for short. Chemo utilizes specific cancer drugs that are administered into the body to help kill cancer cells, preventing them from spreading throughout your child's body. Children with leukemia are typically given a type of chemo called intrathecal chemotherapy, explains Kids Health, a health education website established by the Nemours Foundation. During intrathecalchemo treatment, your child will receive a cancer-fighting drug in the form of a spinal cord injection into the cerebrospinal fluid. The injected chemo drug will be able to travel throughout your child's body, killing any cancerous cells that cross its path.
Bone Marrow Transplant
Depending upon the type of leukemia your child has, the oncologist may recommend a form of cancer treatment called a bone marrow transplant. Normally, the bone marrow helps the body produce healthy immune cells, such as white blood cells, which enable your child's body to fight off infection. If your child has leukemia, his body is unable to produce an adequate number of white blood cells to protect him from infection-causing pathogens. A bone marrow transplant is a procedure in which stem cells (immature blood cells) are taken from the bone marrow of a donor whose genetic material closely matches that of your child (allogeneic bone marrow transplant). The stem cells are then injected into your child's bloodstream. These new, healthy cells can help restore the function of your child's immune system by stimulating the production of healthy white blood cells. This form of treatment, which helps your child's body fight off leukemia, may be used alone or in conjunction with chemo.
Radiation Therapy
Childhood leukemia that affects the brain or central nervous system may be treated with a form of cancer therapy called radiation therapy. Radiation therapy utilizes high-energy X-rays to destroy leukemia cells within your child's body, preventing them from spreading to other organs or tissues. This type of therapy can be administered from outside of your child's body (external radiation) or from within your child's body (internal radiation).
There are side effects associated with chemotherapy, bone marrow transplantation and radiation therapy, which should be discussed with your child and her doctor before beginning treatment.
