Leukemia is defined by the National Cancer Institute as a “Cancer that starts in blood-forming tissue such as the bone marrow and causes large numbers of blood cells to be produced and enter the bloodstream.” Nearly 45,000 new cases are diagnosed each year with more than 20,000 dying from leukemia annually in the United States.
1) Sorrel Mason from England was diagnosed with a rare form of acute myeloid leukemia at the age of two. The doctors predicted she had a 30 percent chance of survival. The treatment of acute myeloid leukemia is based on an adult stem cell transplant, so a worldwide search for a matching stem cell sample was started.
Finally, a set of cells was found in Tokyo, and the treatment at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children in 2007 was successful. Samantha Mason, Sorrel's mother, praised the doctors at the hospital's bone marrow transplant unit: "Sorrel would be dead now if she had been left untreated. They were the most terrifying months our family could live with, but the doctors pulled off a miracle. [1]
2) Olga Reagor was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia and underwent drug therapy in conjunction with chemotherapy before learning about an adult stem cell transplant. Her brother was a perfect match, so she received adult stem cell treatment from his cord blood.
After eight years of being cancer-free she now considers herself healed. "The doctors do not like to use the word 'cured,'" she said, "but I use it because I take no medication and am back working at 110 percent." [2]
___________________________________________________________________________________
- "Japanese stem cells saved girl's life." The Times, 6 February 2008. Accessed at:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article3315251.ece ( 17 April 2008 ).
- Garnett, Logan, "House Committee on Appropriations meets. Explores Adult Stem Cell Research," May 21, 2008. Accessed at: http://texas.gallerywatch.com/news/pressreleasedisplay.gw?prtype=CA&prdocid=31639