Childhood Leukemia

Not everyone gets to turn into their favorite super hero. Then there's Jonithon Garcia. A local artist created a comic cover with the 9-year-old as Spiderman. It's more than just a comic cover, it's inspiration for Jonithon, who's battling leukemia. Jonithon's mother says her son is Spiderman's number one fan. "He watches the Spiderman movie over and over," she says. "He dreams of Spiderman in his sleep!"

It was Jonithon's dream to meet the action hero. So the Make A Wish Foundation flew Jonithon and his family to California to meet actor Toby McGuire.

At the Krypton Komic Store in Omaha, Jonithon felt like a star too. With a pen in hand and a smile on his face, Jonithon signed the cover of his comic book.

There are a great number of malignant diseases that can be treated with the help of cord blood like Leukemia, Lymphoma Neuroblastoma (a type of cancer that has its origins in the adrenal gland and that develops in early childhood) and other types of cancer.

The blood that remains in the umbilical cord and in the placenta after a child's birth is called cord blood. The composition of cord blood contains a great number of very important cells for the human organism (stem cells). In fact these cells construct the immune system and the blood system of the human body. They are "base" cells and they can transform into many other types of human cells.

Cord blood has a lot of extraordinary features and can be very useful in many situations. It can be used in the treatment of many diseases because stem cells have great curative powers. Also, the stem cells existing in the cord blood develop faster than bone marrow stem cells and they are more resistant to bacteria and disease. This recommends cord blood as one of the most potent natural resources of health and treatments.

Cord blood stem cells privately stored can be useful for the donor (baby) and also for other family members, and can avoid the unpleasant and expensive procedure of collecting stem cells from an unrelated donor in the case of the need of a transplant. Parents are highly advised to store their baby's cord blood because of the health advantages that it can bring them in the future. There are a great number of malignant diseases than can be treated with the help of cord blood like Leukemia, Lymphoma Neuroblastoma (a type of cancer that has its origins in the adrenal gland and that develops in early childhood) and other types of cancer.

It can also be used in the treatment of non-malignant diseases such as: Aplastic Anemia; Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Congenital Cytopenia (a deficiency of blood cells); Hunter Syndrome; Osteoporosis; Sickle Cell Anemia; Thalassemia; and Wiskott Aldrich Syndrom).
A great number of diseases specialists are hopeful of finding even newer cord blood treatments. The treatment of Childhood Leukemia with cord blood is in its infancy.

READ this important article about how millions of people worldwide have successfully treated cancer since the 1920's with low-cost, natural, alternative treatments. MORE

Wilms tumor (also called Wilms' tumor or nephroblastoma) is the most common type of kidney cancer that affects children.

Kidneys are 2 curved organs fixed to the back wall of the abdominal cavity. Each kidney is about the size of a fist. One kidney is just to the left and the other just to the right of the backbone. The lower rib cage protects the kidneys.

The kidneys' main job is to filter the blood and rid the body of excess water, salt, and waste products in the form of urine. To do this, a kidney has millions of specialized structures called glomeruli. These structures do the filtering. Each glomerulus is connected to a wavy tube called a nephron that collects and concentrates the filtered fluid, which then becomes urine. Urine leaves the kidneys through long slender tubes called ureters. Each kidney has a single ureter that empties into the bladder where urine is stored until you urinate. Although important, we actually need less than 1 complete kidney to do all of the vital functions discussed above!

Types of Wilms Tumor

Wilms tumors usually affect only 1 kidney (unilateral). But about 5% of children with Wilms tumor have this cancer in both kidneys (bilateral).
Most Wilms tumors are found only after they have become quite large. They are usually found before they metastasize (spread to other organs). The average weight of a newly found Wilms tumor is about 1 pound - many times larger than the kidney in which it developed.

Even though doctors may think a child has a cancer such as Wilms tumor, they cannot be certain until the pathologist looks at the tumor under the microscope. Wilms tumors are classified into 2 major types depending on how they look under the microscope:

- Wilms tumor with a favorable appearance under the microscope
- Wilms tumor with an unfavorable appearance under the microscope
A tumor has an unfavorable appearance when the nuclei (the central part of the cell that contains the DNA) of the cancer cells are very large and distorted. Also, the cells are not uniform and their appearance varies widely. This is called anaplasia. The more anaplasia that is found, the poorer the chance is for a cure. Favorable appearance means there is no anaplasia and the chance of cure is very good. About 95% of Wilms tumors have a favorable histology.

For More Stories And Information On Childhood Leukemia visit Our Website - HERE

Children's Concept Of Death
Children of all ages have their own concept of death. The child with a terminal
condition, has most likely, previously experienced death by loss of a family
member, friend, or pet. READ MORE

Wishes
As each individual child is special and unique, so are their wishes. Since 1984, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan has granted heartfelt wishes to 5,000 children.

Making Wishes Come True

Whether it's a wish for a backyard tree fort, or a wish for a soft, cuddly puppy or a state-of-the-art computer, or even a meeting with a world famous mouse and his goofy friends, the sky's the limit and our wish kids' imaginations are their guide. The Foundation has fulfilled wishes for 5,000 children since its inception in 1984 and anticipates granting nearly 400 wishes for special kids, like Alan, within the next year.

For More Information See Make A Wish Foundation