LEUKEMIA
Leukemia is a cancer of blood-forming tissues, hindering the body's ability to fight infection. There are many types of leukemia but they can be grouped into four main types which are grouped by how quickly the disease develops as well as by the type of blood cells that are affected. The four types are acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML), and acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). ALL is a fast-growing form of cancer of the blood and bone marrow. CLL is a typically slow-growing cancer which begins in lymphocytes in the bone marrow and extends into the blood. It can also spread to lymph nodes and organs such as the liver and spleen. CLL develops when too many abnormal lymphocytes grow, crowding out normal blood cells and making it difficult for the body to fight infection. AML is the most common type of acute leukemia and it occurs when the bone marrow begins to make blasts, cells that have not yet completely matured. These blasts normally develop into white blood cells. However, in AML, these cells do not develop and are unable to ward off infections. CML is a form of cancer that affects the bone marrow and blood. It begins in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow and then, over time, spreads to the blood. Eventually, the disease spreads to other areas of the body. Some forms of leukemia are more common in children while others are more common in adults. Leukemia can manifest almost any time during a lifetime. It develops when the genetic material (DNA) of the white blood cells is damaged or altered, and these cells subsequently fail to mature or become fully functional ("Types of Leukemia") . Leukemia is the most common cancer for kids and teens. It accounts for almost 1 out of 3 cancers and about 3 out of 4 leukemia’s among children and teens acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) is the most common ("What Are the Key Statistics for Childhood Leukemia?"). Most of the remaining cases are acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). ALL is most common in early childhood, peaking between 2 and 4 years of age. Cases of AML are more spread out across the childhood years, but this type of leukemia is slightly more common during the first 2 years of life and during the teenage years. ALL is slightly more common among Hispanic and white children than among African-American and Asian-American children, and it is more common in boys than in girls. AML occurs about equally among boys and girls of all races. Chronic leukemia’s are rare in children and most of these are chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), which tends to occur more in teens than in younger children.
Definition
Instructional Strategies
There are many factors that can impact a student who has leukemia in class. Some factors include weakness, learning, and appetite which all include some things that could help the students, teachers, and parents.
If students are weak or fatigued:
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Your child may need 2 sets of books, one for home and one for school.
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You might be able to have your child take brief rest periods or shorter school days may be needed.
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Teens may need locker assignments closer to classrooms to get to class on time.
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Some children may need more time on tests, quizzes or reduced assignments because of fatigue.
If they are having problems with appetite, thirst, or bathroom:
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Dry mouth caused by treatment could mean the child needs to carry a water bottle.
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Children who have bladder or bowel problems after treatment may need long-term bathroom passes so they can take care of these needs without calling attention to the problem.
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Children who are having trouble gaining weight or are underweight may also need a longer lunch period and have extra snacks.
If they are having problems with learning and schoolwork:
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Ask the child if they are having a hard time with friends or other the social relationships. Trouble with other children can also affect school work.
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Ask the cancer care team if the child's treatment is known to cause school problems as one of the late effects of treatment. Sometimes these school problems are called neurocognitive late effects.
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Talk to the cancer care team or school about resources to help understand the kind of problems the child is having. This testing might be called neuropsychology testing. If testing is recommended, it is often used to understand if a 504 plan or IEP would be helpful.
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Make sure the child knows that having trouble in school doesn't mean they aren't as smart as they were before. It might help to tell them that the cancer treatments might make their brain work differently than it did before. It might help them to know that the testing is to help understand their brain better so everyone can help in the best way possible.
Useful Websites
Some websites that give more information about Leukemia like the symptoms or how to help your son or student in school here are some useful websites.
Facts on Children in School with Cancer
Research
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170215145940.htm
This research was done in February of 2017 and it talks about how young Coloradans diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia were more likely to live in areas of high density oil and gas development compared to young Coloradans diagnosed with other cancers. Here they talked about the connection between the oil and cancer.
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0186787
This article focused on survivors of cancer and how to help them. Stated from the abstract “CNS-directed therapies for the treatment of leukemia can adversely affect the acquisition of new skills, such as reading/writing and math. Two years after the end of treatments, children show gross and fine motor skill delays that may persist even when patients are considered healed.” This therapy helps leukemia but hurts survivors skills in school.
https://www.weareteachers.com/5-ways-help-child-cancer-good-school-year/
This article was written in 2016 and talks about how to include students into the school who have cancer or are survivors. This website gives many ways to help the student have a great year in school and gives examples of how to do this.
This book was published in 2015 and gives a whole rundown on talking about cancer, what to do when a student has cancer, when a family member has cancer and more. This gives a whole run down of what to do, what can happen, and what to expect.
Sources
“Types of Leukemia.” Cancer Treatment Centers of America, www.cancercenter.com/leukemia/types/.
"What Are the Key Statistics for Childhood Leukemia?" American Cancer Society. Accessed November 5, 2017. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/leukemia-in-children/about/key-statistics.html.
