Hangin' Around, Bein' a Nerd

Update, 11pm: Sorry I had to turn word verification back on cuz I been gettin' crazy comment spam again. Also I just watched The Unsinkable Molly Brown at the Firehouse 5 Playhouse and there is a ton-o-talent around here...very fun! Happy Birthday, Angie!

While I am simultaneously trying to prepare to teach RS and hand off Primary choristering tomorrow, getting ready to go on a date while I feel like poo, and waiting to hear news about my mom, I am doing some research on her condition. If there are any doctors out there who want to translate any of this for me, feel free.

Here's the sitch: Mom has a sucky immune system. She was diagnosed with Spru in 1987, fibromyalgia then RA around 2000, then diffuse large B cell (?) lymphoma in 2008 for which she underwent chemo and radiation. In September she was treated with transfusions for hemolytic anemia from which she never recovered and has been admitted again for another transfusion, 8 weeks later. She has new doctors because she moved from Vancouver WA to Utah, so they are figuring out what's wrong and today's guess is leukemia. Here is what I read about today [my comments are in brackets]:

[This type of Leukemia seems most likely to me—totally untrained in medicine—only because her lymphoma was a B-cell lymphoma…]

B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL), also known as chronic lymphoid leukemia (CLL), is the most common type of leukemia. Leukemias are abnormal and malignant neoplastic proliferations ("cancers") of the white blood cells (leukocytes). CLL involves a particular subtype of white blood cells, which is a lymphocyte called a B cell. B cells originate in the bone marrow, develop in the lymph nodes, and normally fight infection. In CLL, the DNA of a B cell is damaged, so that it can't fight infection by producing antibodies. Additionally, they grow out of control and accumulate in the bone marrow and blood, where they crowd out healthy blood cells…
…Although not originally appreciated, CLL is now felt to be identical to a disease called small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), a type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma which presents primarily in the lymph nodes. The World Health Organization considers CLL and SLL to be "one disease at different stages, not two separate entities.”…
…CLL treatment focuses on controlling the disease and its symptoms rather than on an outright cure. CLL is treated by chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biological therapy, or bone marrow transplantation. Symptoms are sometimes treated surgically (splenectomy removal of enlarged spleen) or by radiation therapy ("de-bulking" swollen lymph nodes).
Initial CLL treatments vary depending on the exact diagnosis and the progression of the disease, and even with the preference and experience of the health care practitioner. There are dozens of agents used for CLL therapy, and there is considerable research activity studying them individually or in combination with each other.[16]
Decision to treat
While generally considered incurable, CLL progresses slowly in most cases. Many people with CLL lead normal and active lives for many years - in some cases for decades. Because of its slow onset, early-stage CLL is generally not treated since it is believed that early CLL intervention does not improve survival time or quality of life. Instead, the condition is monitored over time to detect any change in the disease pattern. [CLICK TO READ MORE]


[But there is also this kind of Leukemia, which I found most often in my “hemolytic anemia” searches]
Accute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)
In ALL, very immature leukemia cells accumulate in the bone marrow, destroying and replacing cells that produce normal blood cells. The leukemia cells are also carried in the bloodstream to the liver, spleen, lymph nodes, brain, and testes, where they may continue to grow and divide. They can irritate the layers of tissue covering the brain and spinal cord, causing inflammation (meningitis), and can cause anemia, liver and kidney failure, and other organ damage.
Prognosis
Before treatment was available, most people who had ALL died within 4 months of the diagnosis. Now, nearly 80% of children and 30 to 40% of adults with ALL are cured. For most people, the first course of chemotherapy brings the disease under control (complete remission). Children between the ages of 3 and 7 have the best prognosis. Children younger than 2 and older adults fare least well. The white blood cell count and particular chromosome abnormalities in the leukemia cells also influence outcome. [CLICK HERE TO READ MORE]


[…this goes on to say that chemo (at least 2 rounds) and stem cell transplants are the treatment…]

[Here is the conclusion of a study of the anemia associated with the leukemia…]
…This study indicates that in CLL (chrionic lymphocytic leukemia) AHA (accute hemolytic anemia) is a rare event with no independent effect on survival for which steroids, associated with CB (medication) if required, and a careful management of infections may successfully control the 2 conditions. Cooperative studies are needed to better define the optimal steroid schedule and the therapeutic role of other immunosuppressive agents and splenectomy. [CLICK HERE TO READ MORE]