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“Leukemia is a type of blood cancer that begins in the bone marrow. Bone marrow is the soft tissue in the center of the bones, where blood cells are produced.” – National Library of Medicine
April is Cancer in Children Awareness Month and in line with this, Mary Mediatrix Medical Center conducted a health talk earlier at the Lilian Magsino Hall with pediatrician and hematologist, Dr. Jocelyn Rosita, as resource speaker.
The discussion focused on leukemia in children. I got to converse with Dr. Rosita before the talk as she gave out an overview of the difference between leukemia in children and in adult.
“The clinical manifestations are the same but it differs with the treatment and the response to children. Usually, children are responsive to chemotherapy unlike adults. We can cure leukemia in children.”
“In leukemia, you don’t have stages. You just have types – acute and chronic – and then risk stratification. So you have to risk stratify them if they are good risk for treatment or they are poor risk for treatment. So that’s how we treat children.”
Although it is labeled as acute, this type of leukemia can be fatal if no treatment is done. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is common in children while acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is the classification common among adults.
Clinical manifestations of leukemia include replacement of normal marrow elements, anemia, bleeding, infection, production of physiologically active substances, leukostasis and tissue infiltration.
Based on the 2005 Philippine Health Advisories Report from the Department of Health, leukemia is the leading cause of cancer among kids between 0 to 14 years old. The peak incidence of which is between 2 to 5 years of age.
Leukemia should be considered in a patient with fever, bleeding, lymphadenopathies, hepatosplenomegaly, and bone pains. Chemotherapy treatment will be from 2 1/2 to 3 years. Early detection and treatment is always the best way to survive the battle with leukemia and 70 – 80% of good risk patients can be cured if given proper treatment.
Students from St. Augustine School of Nursing – Lipa, parents who have children diagnosed with leukemia, and one of Dr. Rosita’s patient who is being supported by the Cancer Warriors Foundation, attended the discussion. This event is part of Mary Mediatrix Medical Center’s monthly health awareness seminars.
Keep posted for more health talks in the coming months only from MMMC.
