Haden
Diagnosed as an infant,
Acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL)

Cancer is the second leading cause of death among children, but today’s aggressive therapies and innovative support systems are greatly improving their odds.

Looking at 11-year-old Haden today, you’d never guess he learned to walk with an IV pole.

Haden was diagnosed as an infant with the most common childhood cancer, acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL), a form of leukemia that attacks the bone marrow. It is treatable in older children, but often fatal for infants. Haden had only a 20 percent chance of surviving to age 2.

“You just never think about your baby having cancer,” recalls Leslie, Haden’s mother. “It was a scary time for us.”

Back in 1995, leukemia patients would often relapse within nine months after treatment. According to Dr. ZoAnn Dreyer, medical director of the long-term survivor program at Texas Children’s Cancer Center®, the time had come for a revolutionary approach.

Dreyer began a 46-week pilot program that called for intensified levels of chemotherapy never used on infants before. Previously, treatment for babies with ALL involved lower doses for an extended period of more than two years.

“We had to try to match the aggressiveness of the leukemia with a very intensive, aggressive treatment protocol,” says Dreyer.

Haden was one of the first patients to undergo this therapy. It has since become the national standard for treating all infants with ALL, and current infant survival rates are well above 50 percent.

The treatment has given kids like Haden a second chance—kids who just a few years ago had little hope. Today, he is full of energy and looks forward to starting sixth grade this year. At home, he and his younger brother Ragan have the makings of a rock band—Haden plays the drums and Ragan plays the electric guitar.

“It’s as if he knows what a great gift life is, because he almost lost it,” says Leslie.

Allen
Diagnosed at 8,
acute myeloid leukemia

Since he was diagnosed with leukemia, 8-year-old Allen has had to wrestle some tough realities.

He’s faced them down with maturity and courage, inspired by the goal of returning to his two favorite activities – riding his bicycle and playing with his friends at school.

“Before he was sick, Allen was the kind of child who never stopped running, never complained of being tired,” says his mom, Candelaria. “But he also has a serious side, and he understands that now he has to take it easy.”

Allen is fighting acute myeloid leukemia, more difficult to cure than other more common forms of childhood leukemia. Benefiting from Texas Children’s Cancer Center’s dedication to being at the forefront of cancer care, Allen has received the latest treatments available for his disease. His family also has found comfort tin the center’s compassionate approach to care and its family centered programs.

“We know we get the latest and best treatments possible at Texas Children’s,” Candelaria says. “Everyone there takes such good care of Allen – and of us as a family.”

Diagnosed at 4, osteosarcoma

Because complaining was not typical behavior for Luis, his mother Delia was particularly concerned that warm April morning in 1998 when her young son said his right leg was hurting. An X-ray at the pediatrician’s office in southeast Houston pinpointed the culprit.

“The doctor said, ‘Look, he’s got something on his bone,’ ” Delia remembers. “I saw a big white mass about the size of a baseball. Then he said, ‘Go right to Texas Children’s Hospital. Don’t even go home.’ “

Delia was quick to heed the doctor’s advice. The next few hours were filled with additional exams and X-rays at the nation’s largest pediatric specialty hospital.

“At the time, I had never heard the word ‘oncology’ but I noticed it on several name badges,” Delia says. “When I asked a doctor what it meant and understood that Luis might have cancer, I almost fell to the ground in a panic. Luis was admitted that night for more tests.”

A biopsy revealed the mass was osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer that most often occurs in teenagers. Doctors explained that radiation would not work on this type of tumor and advised chemotherapy. Unfortunately, only five weeks after starting the treatments, an X-ray revealed Luis’ tumor had almost doubled in size. His pain also had increased. Click to continue »

Diagnosed at 2, brain tumor

Garrett was a 2-year-old live wire when his right eye started to “wiggle,” as his mother, Tracye, describes it.

Just to be safe, Tracye took Garrett to an ophthalmologist, who referred him to Texas Children’s. After a series of tests, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Two days later, while his family was still reeling from the impact of the diagnosis, Garrett had brain surgery and started treatment at Texas Children’s Cancer Center. Click to continue »