Upon receiving the results, the physician informed the stunned mother that her child had leukemia and would need to be admitted to the hospital for further testing and treatment. Note that Noah also has an anemia and a thrombocytopenia secondary to leukemia. Because the bone marrow is producing so many white blood cells, there is no room to make adequate red blood cells or platelets. This explains Noah's fatigue and frequent nosebleeds.
- 6. Define leukemia.
- 7. What is the difference between a chronic and acute leukemia? How do the symptoms differ?
- 8. What are the four most common types of leukemia? In which age groups is each most predominantly found?
- 9. What are the common symptoms of leukemia?
- 10. What tests help a physician diagnose leukemia?
After admission to the hospital, Noah was referred to a pediatric oncologist, a doctor who specializes in pediatric diseases of the blood. The oncologist ordered a bone marrow aspirate.
View The Bone Marrow Aspiration video and bone marrow smear results and answer the following questions:
- 11. What is a bone marrow procedure?
- 12. What abnormality in Noah's bone marrow smear was suggestive of a Leukemia?
Further testing confirmed the bone marrow results. Noah was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia.
View Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia video and answer the following questions:
- 13. What is ALL?
- 14. What does the word "acute" mean when talking about ALL?
- 15. What are the 5 common symptoms of ALL that are talked about in this video?
- 16. Chemotherapy is the first line of treatment for ALL. What treatments would follow if chemotherapy fails?
- 17. ALL is the most common cancer in young children. What is the approximate cure rate in children?