My unknown childhood life - Leukemia Message Board

apegirl_05 · 08-17-2002, 12:50 PM

My mom was diagnosed with leukemia in August 1991. She was only 36. That's young for leukemia. I don't remember anything about this time in my life. I was only 4 years old when she was diagnosed. She had cemotherapy. She was so sick that she had to beg the doctors and nurses to acually come home for Christmas and Thanksgiving. I had to have my 5th birthday in the hospital just to be with my own mother! When I realize that it makes me alittle sad. I found her diary from when she was in the hospital and read it a couple of times. To try to remember somthing than I wasn't told.
She fought for 10 whole months and then got phnemonia and couldn't fight it off. She died 1 month and 1 week after my birthday, 2 weeks before my sister graduated from high school, and 1 day after mothers day in May 1992.

My sister was then my legal gaurdian and still is 10 years later. I know im likely to get/ have it in my lifetime since it's hereditary. I've gone threw alot in the past 10 years. I just want some motavation to get threw my life. Could I get Leukemia later on in my life?

[This message has been edited by apegirl_05 (edited 08-19-2002).]

Jay Tor · 08-20-2002, 05:50 AM

Leukemia is NOT hereditary. Leukemias occur when there is a re-arrangement, deletion, addition or some other change in the DNA of the cells in the bone marrow [AML/CML] or thymus [ALL/CLL]. Although you can inherit a portion of the DNA that is more susceptible to fragmentation/change, this is not the same as inheriting leukemia.

What this means to you is that you should be more careful than people without your family's medical history about exposure to known carcinogens and take preventative measures about eating healthy and exercise.

Our child had AML and theabove is the information we were given by our child's HEM/ONCs. And so far, there is no scientific, medical/clinical evidence to the contrary.