Day 10: Rapid Early Responder?

Today is Mady's one-week of Chemo anniversary! This morning Mady "donated" a second sample of both bone marrow and spinal fluid, this time without having to go under general anesthesia. Her doctors are hoping to find fewer than 5% Leukemia cells in her bone marrow... and this would make her a Rapid Early Responder to the initial week of chemotherapy--a very positive thing! It sure sounds good. We'll know tomorrow, I believe.

Genetic analysis of Mady's Leukemia cells shows certain indicators on chromosomes 4, 10, and 17, and you know what that means don't you? Well, me neither... but it's a type of Leukemia almost always only seen in much younger children. The doctors think that this is good news, but the ramifications are not exactly clear. Dr. Ebb (left), one of Dr. Friedmann's partners, told us this evening that this is the sort of thing that has only ever been seen in a handful of teenagers.

Oh, and in a previous post I mentioned that there was a 1% chance that they'd find a really BAD genetic indicator... they DIDN'T find that one. :-)