On October 2nd, 2022, Rahul Koli, a child actor from India’s 2022 Oscar Entry film ‘Chhello Show’, passed away after a long battle with cancer. His passing shook the nation, but also put his cause of death- childhood leukemia- in the limelight.
Before talking about childhood leukemia specifically, let’s talk about leukemia itself. Leukemia is a broad term for cancers of the blood cells and blood-forming tissues including, but not limited to, bone marrow and the lymphatic system. While our body’s white blood cells usually grow and divide in a systematic manner as and when required, in people with leukemia, they are produced abnormally and in excess.
Some symptoms of leukemia are:
Fever or chills
Persistent fatigue, weakness
Frequent or severe infections
Losing weight without trying
Swollen lymph nodes, enlarged liver or spleen
Easy bleeding or bruising
Recurrent nosebleeds
Tiny red spots in your skin (petechiae)
Excessive sweating, especially at night
Bone pain or tenderness
Leukemia commonly occurs in patients above the age of 55, but it is also the most common cancer in patients below the age of 15, accounting for nearly one-third of pediatric cancers. Out of this, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common type of childhood leukemia- approximately 75% of people under age 20 diagnosed with leukemia are diagnosed with ALL, with most cases occurring between the ages of 2 and 5.
In the 1950s, the survival rate for childhood leukemia was almost 0%. However, with the advent of modern medicine, the 5 year survival rate for patients of all types of leukemia is 65% on average. For ALL, this number sits at over 90%, while for AML (acute myelogenous leukemia), another type of leukemia commonly found in pediatric patients, it sits at 65% to 70%.
Treatment for leukaemia can range from targeted drug treatments and clinical trials to radiation and chemotherapy to bone marrow transplants, depending on the type and severity of the cancer. Leukemia is often tested for using physical exams, blood tests, or bone marrow tests.
While being tested or diagnosed with childhood leukemia would be a stressful experience for both the child and the family, several strategies, treatments, and interventions exist to make treatment successful.
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