The Long Battle of Childhood Cancer

Mgcancerhospital19 Jan, 2022Health

Young Rajesh (name changed) was an exuberant child. Or so his mother describes him through tears and trepidation. Exuberant is not a word you would use to describe the child that lies shivering in front of my eyes on the couch. He was weak but he seemed to be using his last ounce of energy trying to repel me from examining him. As someone who had diagnosed and cared for such children for a while now, even a perfunctory examination was enough to suspect that I would be dealing with a case of acute leukemia in that 5-year-old. The multiple swellings in the neck, that irritability, the bleeding spots on his skin and the unmistakable pain in his bones were the telltale features. A small test called peripheral smear was done and the Pathologist calls up in a short while to confirm my fear. My fear is not to treat the disease really! It?s how to treat the family!