Dear longlock friends,



      My son jimmy who is 5 just got diagnosed with leukemia(ALL). We are so sad and in shock. I took him to the doctor because he looked very pale and i thought he might be anemic because he is not a good eater. For the last month he two weeks he has been tired.  The doctor took blood tests and he  called us and told us to bring jimmy straight to the hospital to do more tests. When they told us about the leukemia we cried all night and day.  Jimmy is a wonderful kid (god bless him). He had a bone marrow and he will start chemo today.  Thankgod there is treatment and a cure. I hope it works out ok. Its been tough though on our family. Please pray for jimmy's health. If anyone has experience with cancer or knows of it, please share.

                                                        Love Always,


                                                        Curlygirl

Curlygirl you hang in there!!  Jimmy is young and with all of you there for support and help he can't help but do well!!!!  My thoughts and prayers are with you,Jimmy and your family.  I'm sending "white light" your way and will hold him in my prayers!  Keep us posted!

My prayers are also with both of you, Curlygirl... If you remain strong he is sure to, as well. You both have the support of all of us here, and all your real life friends and family.
My father had lung cancer, but with chemo and having his left lung removed, he's had no signs of anything for almost a year now.

I am so sorry to hear about your little boy.    You will be in my thoughts and prayers and my little Morgans as well.  She is learning to say prayer before bed and I will add Jimmy and your family to her list. Take care.

Your family will be in my thoughts, and if it does not offend you, I'd be happy to light a candle for Jimmy.  

I would encourage you to stick with chemo. It's tough, but there is no soft alternative for it (otherwise everyone would choose that, I'd imagine...). Cancer is a serious disease and as such, the side effects that are allowed for cancer medicines are huge compared to what would be allowed for cures for lesser illnesses. There's no way around that- you will just have to stick through everything the doctor orders. Remember, that other children have gone through the same, and have been healed. It might be a good idea to find a peer support group where you could meet other families in the same situation- I'm sure your clinic will have contact information.
One treatment at a time is the way to go- and remember, that if one treatment is bad, the next one may not be so bad. How a certain treatment visit goes, depends on many things.

However, I believe that "soft" treatments have their place in cancer treatment, in supporting role. Modern medicine is effective, but it is harsh and quite heartless. When choosing a soft therapy, ask Jimmy what he would like. If he finds touch comforting, then massage, shiatsu, stone massage and the like might be good. Or he might like aromatherapy. Music can also be therapeutic, as well as silence- whichever he likes best. In any case, a holistic therapy should be something that he likes and finds comforting and uplifting. The goal of soft treatments would be to make him feel as good as possible (and thus stronger, so the treatments go better).
I also think that it's important that you keep his life as normal as possible (which might not be much). Doctors perceive people often as illnessess attached to a life support system, so family and friends have the job of remembering that in spite of his illness, Jimmy is still a little boy who is besides being ill, growing up all the time. He still needs support, play (when he feels up to it), laughter and someone to say "no" when he behaves badly.

Hope this helps.
Yes, keep us posted, we'll be here for you.

How scary!  I truly wish you all the best and hope he has as an easy a time as possible with the chemo. 
my aunt just got diagnosed with breast cancer, although i suppose it's technically a relapse since she already had a mastectomy from a previous diagnosis a few years back.  it's so stressful on everyone involved.

i'm so sad for you, what a rotten thing to happen.
stay brave though!

Curlygirl - I will keep you, Jimmy and your family in my thoughts and prayers.  You already know this will be a tough road to go down, but keep in mind, this is a curable disease and Jimmy is young - I'm sure he will be strong and get thru this.

Keep us up to date on his status - we are all sending positive, healing thoughts your way.