A Nursing Lifespan Perspective of Childhood Acute Lymphoid Leukemia (ALL)
A parent's worst nightmare is having to be told that their child has been diagnosed with a horrific life changing disease. Children will always get sick, it is inventible, no matter how hard the parents try to prevent it. Children are much more vulnerable to various amounts of bacteria and viruses because their immune system is not yet fully developed, which can then lead to many different diseases. The most common disease that is found in children is known as Acute Lymphoid Leukemia (ALL); which is commonly found in ages two to eight, but is rarely found in adults. Having a child with ALL is very challenging because of all the constant attention and care that they will need.
Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the bodies' white blood cells. The article "Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia ALL" by kidshealth.org explains in great detail about how ALL affects the children's bodies. White blood cells usually help fight off any infections that overtake the immune system, but when leukemia invades the body everything slowly changes. Instead of the white blood cells helping the body, they turn cancerous and begin multiplying uncontrollably. This can then lead to organ failure because the cells and body have become compromised. Kidshealth.org explains why ALL is "The most common type of child leukemia; about 75% of kids develop ALL worldwide". (Nemours, Par. 3)
There are many steps that the child must undergo before becoming completely cured from ALL. According to the American Cancer Society, the very first step of treatment is known as "induction". "The goal of induction is to bring about a remission" (ACS, Par.1), meaning that leukemia cells are no longer found in the child's bone marrow samples. "More than 95% of children with ALL will go into remission after one month of treatment"(ACS, Par. 1). There is a very important difference between entering remission and being completely...