My four year old (then three) Caitlin was diagnosed with leukemia on October 31, 2016. After a few weeks of several visits to our peditrician and emergency room, Caitlin was diagnosed with T-Cell ALL. At the time of admission, Cat had a white cell count of 188,000 (normal is 15,000). She was in a very, very dangerous place. We have been fighting everyday to save our daughter from this ugly disease and will continue to fight!
After diagnosis, we spent a little over a week in the hospital and had several procedure, tests, x-rays and MRI's completed. The treatment plan for all kids with cancer is universal through all hospitals. So no matter where you are being treated, you are on the same protocol as other kids with your diagnosis. There were several complications in the beginning, from a port infection to a splinter hospitalizing Cat for two weeks.
There are about five phases is T-cell ALL treatment protocol, with the total time being about three years depending on when your child enters remission. Most of the treatment time is spent in maintenance, which is less intensive. Fortunately, Cat entered remission on day 29, which was the target date. When the doctors checked to see if she had any leukemia in her bone marrow they found 0.00% minimum residual disease (MRD). We are so thankful!
Fast forward to July 3, 2017....Cat entered maintenance! She can start to be around kids again and even go back to school. I am hoping to jot down pieces of her treatment that we have experienced thus far and share as much as possible. I am going to write something on neutropenia soon, as this is something that has impacted Cat and our family so much.
Much more to come!
Marie (Caitlin the Cancer Crusher's momma)
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