Duncan's ALL Page

Welcome to Duncan's Page.

Duncan was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
in August of 2001 after a month of low hemoglobin counts.

We have no idea what caused it and may never know, but his prognosis
is excellent and he has had no problems with treatment.

The doctors could not determine the cytogenetics of the leukemia, but due to
his age (2-10 is favorable) and low white blood cell count, Duncan was placed
on arm A of the standard-risk protocol (as opposed to low- or high-risk -
some kids get more chemo, some get less).
ALL is classfied by what kind of cells are involved, his is pre-B.

He is now finished with chemo and will have five years of follow-up.

*******Please scroll down and put a dot on our guest map. Thanks!*******

Duncan's Virtual Quilt (from about age 3 or 4)



Place a 'pin' on the map - it's a small world after all!
(If you don't see your dot, try the 'Go Back' or 'Go Ahead' arrow in the top left corner.)



The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
Lots of info, our number one cause, of course!

Find a LLS Light the Night walk
A beautiful family event around September or October.



Team in Training - The world's largest endurance sports training program, raises funds for LLS.
The direct link to my TNT donation page doesn’t seem to work from here. Please search for me – Vicki in Anchorage with North Texas.


A Poem by Christopher Melkonian

If you give a kid on steroids chicken noodle soup,
he’s going to want a Gatorade to go with it.

Once he drinks his Gatorade,
he’s going to want some cheese puffs.

Once he finishes his cheese puffs,
he is going to want to bake cookies and brownies with you.

Once you're done baking cookies and brownies,
he will want to eat them.

Then he will say, "Now it is time for a chicken leg."

Then he is going to want dessert,
how about about an ice cream bar.

So if you give a kid on steroids chicken noodle soup,
chances are you better go to the grocery store before lunch!



Childhood Cancer Awareness Postage Stamp Petition

America's Blood Centers

American Association of Blood Banks

National Marrow Donor Program

Canadian Blood Services

Please consider donating blood or platelets and joining the bone marrow registry.
You could save a life!

Journal

Sunday, February 15, 2009 9:15 AM CST

Wow, it's been so long again. Sorry!

Duncan continues to do really well physically, any deficits are very subtle - neuropsych testing shows some little coordination issues in the handwriting stuff.

Psychologically, it's still about the same, but so much of it can be put down to being a 10-year-old boy. The doctors will probably never admit that chemo can cause these problems, especially since he was so young we don't know how he was going to be anyway. We are still dealing with ADHD at school, and he does not like going to school. Math is a big struggle, he just doesn't seem to be able to do all the memorization of the facts. But he's doing alright, still passing everything.

He's been in Cub Scouts for two years now, and Karate since 2nd grade - he's a purple belt in this program. He's enjoying reading, and playing video games, still enjoys his Legos, and is a happy kid.

As for myself, I guess the last two years have been more focused on Collin, who has been diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum. He's just bad enough to make life difficult when he wants to do so. And you can't always predict when he wants to do so. As hard as leukemia treatment was, at least it seems to have an end, or at least tapers off greatly.

So, my friend Cheryl has joined Team in Training to do the half marathon in Anchorage this summer. I, of course, have signed up with her. If you can contribute you'll find the link right above the journal.

Thanks for reading!
Vicki

Read Journal History

Hospital Information:

Patient Room: Not currently inpatient

Links:

E-mail Author: texneus@yahoo.com

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