Kullan was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) Monday, August 8th, 2005.
He had flu-like symptoms (fever, fatigue) right around the end of the school year and complained about achiness in his legs and stomach to the point where he would cry out in pain sometimes when picked up under the arms. Elaine took him to our family doctor who said it was viral and prescribed iron because he was anemic. We gave him Tylenol for the achiness and fever off and on for the first week or so in July. He was happy for our trip and seemed fine until we were home on the 24th where the same symptoms were back. After spending time with our family at the lake August long, where Kullan was happy sometimes and tired and fussy other times, Elaine took him to the hospital on Sunday, August 7th where blood tests were done again. She was told that more tests were needed in Regina and took him to the General Hospital Sunday evening where he was admitted. Monday morning she was told that it might be Leukemia and was transferred to the Pasqua Hospital where the Allan Blair Cancer Center is located. In the early afternoon Doctor Haq, Chief of Pediatric Oncology, confirmed that Kullan had Leukemia and spent over an hour with us and our family members, educating everyone about this disease and answering questions.
Kullan falls into the sub-category of Standard Risk-high, which has a cure rate of 80-85% and is a Slow Early Responder which means that he will receive about 16 weeks more treatment than a Rapid Responder. No Cancer cells were found in his spinal fluid or brain so Radiation will NOT be part of his treatment.
He began treatment with a blood transfusion Monday, August 8th and again on Tuesday, August 9th. Day 1 of Induction Chemotherapy was Wednesday, August 10th and runs to Day 29 which is Wednesday, September 7th. There are three phases next which are roughly 8 weeks each, starting with Consolidation on September 14th, Interim Maintenance in November and December, and Delayed Intensification in January and February. Interim Maintenance and Delayed Intensification are then repeated through to June if there are no delays or complications.
In each of these phases he will have to go to the clinic in Regina (about 400 km round trip) at least once a week with the treatments centered around Wednesdays. There are a few times where he will be admitted on a Tuesday and discharged on the Wednesday, and there are some (4 times a week) treatments that can be administered in Melville (about 90 km round trip). Some of the treatments will simply be administered through the port that was put in his chest and will take only a matter of minutes, while others will mean a visit to the O.R. Next summer, if all goes well, he will start Maintenance which will last approximately three years. In the maintenance phase, treatments are every four weeks with a trip to the O. R. every three months. During all of this there are other Meds that are given at home.
