Hi, Mark!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

AH>  That part hasn't changed, apparently. Her treatment lasted
AH>  for 2 1/2 years... but I was also told it took 3 1/2 years
AH>  for boys.

MH>  Basically the same, but depending on certain test results,
MH>  the treatment times in the Maintenance Phase can be less.


          Ah.  I guess there's more flexibility now that the doctors have
been using +/- the same protocols for over twenty years.  In our day the
time frame was quite rigid AFAIK, but since then they've fine-tuned a lot
of things.  :-)



 [re prednisone]
MH>  He was on the steroid for the first 29 days in a row.  In
MH>  addition to all the things you noted, he also was eating
MH>  like crazy.


          Our daughter didn't feel much like eating during the first few weeks
... she survived chiefly on milk, juice, and formula.  While I was in
hospital with her nothing went to waste, though.  Fortunately she would
leave enough on her plate to enable me to keep body & soul together
until Dallas arrived after work.  I understand prednisone does tend to
cause food cravings, typically for salty foods &/or carbohydrates. 
Maybe our daughter's cravings were different. In any case I was
surprised... and rather amused... when I found out that some local pizza
restaurants cheerfully made deliveries to the hospital.  Teenagers are more
likely to be there on their own than younger children, of course, and more
likely to have independent means by which to pay for such luxuries.  :-))



MH>  This then means going to the bathroom like crazy and he
MH>  ended up with a rash that wouldn't heal until he was off
MH>  the steroid.


          Uh... you mean something akin to diaper rash?  We had a very
similar problem during the third week, in part because of the stool
softener which was routinely administered during treatment to keep things
moving along.  It was a difficult time for us.  But I gather the
alternatives could be worse... you do
*not* want caustic chemicals eroding your child's innards, where you can't
see what's going on & where the damage would be a lot more difficult to
fix.

          Because prednisone inhibits the immune response, it is often used
in the treatment of arthritis & asthma as well as leukemia.  The
downside in such situations as yours, however, is that it slows the healing
of wounds.

          What you gain on the swings you lose on the roundabouts, or so it
is said.  Our daughter had a stubborn case of "cradle cap" which
disappeared when she lost her hair.  Glad to know the rash has cleared up,
at any rate....  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+