Post by AnnB (NE) on Feb 15, 2009 12:59:48 GMT -5
DH was diagnosed Thursday with chronic leukemia.
I'm finding some information, but not a lot, most goes along with what the doctor said -- they don't treat it unless it's showing active progression. At this point the only effects he seems to have are transient swollen glands, and he's easily fatigued (which could also be because he's still recovering from hernia surgery).
The doctor did say that this makes him more suseptible to disease and infection, since it causes the lymphocytes to be less effective at their job.
He's not in any immediate danger, and will probably never have any symptoms more severe than the swollen glands, fatigue, & a lowered immune response, and maybe anemia.
It does explain why he had such a hard time getting over West Nile, it also explains the mysterious mumps-like illness that he had several years ago -- this doctor is pretty sure that that was the point when it made it's first appearance (his blood work has been slightly abnormal ever since).
I am finding some interesting information on viral causes of leukemia and other cancers.
This type of leukemia appears to be caused in a lot of cases by a human leukemia virus, closely related to BLV.
BLV is being implicated in non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and also in human breast cancer. BLV has been isolated from tumors in the lymph nodes of lymphoma patients and from from human breast cancer tumors.
Baby chimps fed BLV positive milk all died of lymphoma by a year of age.
In a recent study, 73% of people tested were positive for antibodies to BLV (it was a small group of less than 300, but it's still interesting)
They have even isolated a virus that causes breast cancer in mice, transmitted from mother to daughter in the milk.
Make you wonder just how many cancers (and other debilitating conditions) are the end result of chronic viral infections.
Ann B
I'm finding some information, but not a lot, most goes along with what the doctor said -- they don't treat it unless it's showing active progression. At this point the only effects he seems to have are transient swollen glands, and he's easily fatigued (which could also be because he's still recovering from hernia surgery).
The doctor did say that this makes him more suseptible to disease and infection, since it causes the lymphocytes to be less effective at their job.
He's not in any immediate danger, and will probably never have any symptoms more severe than the swollen glands, fatigue, & a lowered immune response, and maybe anemia.
It does explain why he had such a hard time getting over West Nile, it also explains the mysterious mumps-like illness that he had several years ago -- this doctor is pretty sure that that was the point when it made it's first appearance (his blood work has been slightly abnormal ever since).
I am finding some interesting information on viral causes of leukemia and other cancers.
This type of leukemia appears to be caused in a lot of cases by a human leukemia virus, closely related to BLV.
BLV is being implicated in non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and also in human breast cancer. BLV has been isolated from tumors in the lymph nodes of lymphoma patients and from from human breast cancer tumors.
Baby chimps fed BLV positive milk all died of lymphoma by a year of age.
In a recent study, 73% of people tested were positive for antibodies to BLV (it was a small group of less than 300, but it's still interesting)
They have even isolated a virus that causes breast cancer in mice, transmitted from mother to daughter in the milk.
Make you wonder just how many cancers (and other debilitating conditions) are the end result of chronic viral infections.
Ann B