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The site provides information for parents of children
diagnosed with leukemia, physicians and the general public. Sponsors of the
site are Ching-Hon Pui, M.D. and William Evans, Pharm.D., who are co-leaders
of the Hematological Malignancies Program at St. Jude, and Lisa Walters, R.N.
"Providing medical care
for children with leukemia has been a privilege and the most rewarding
experience of my life."
The site includes information about patient enrollment; current leukemia
treatment; general information about the disease; an introduction to the St.
Jude team approach; information on the St. Jude leukemia medical team; a video
presentation from a St. Jude clinician; and testimonials from current
patients.
Leukemia, particularly, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most
common form of childhood cancer, has a current survival rate of more than
80 percent. St. Jude has been a leader in researching and developing clinical
trials that helped move the survival rate to the current high.
"In 1971, St.
Jude achieved a major advancement in the treatment of children with ALL using
a combination of multiple medications plus cranial irradiation and
chemotherapy in TOTAL V. That landmark study was the first to show that it is
possible to cure the majority of children with ALL, and launched a long
tradition of treatment protocols at St. Jude that helped advance the survival
rates to over 80 percent. Our hope is that with our new leukemia protocol,
TOTAL XV, we can push the cure rate even closer to 100 percent," Dr. Evans
said. The new St. Jude treatment protocol for ALL, TOTAL XV, is open and a
summary of this treatment option is available on the Web site.
Visitors to the site have an opportunity to learn about St. Jude's total
team approach to caring for a patient with leukemia.
"Providing medical care
for children with leukemia has been a privilege and the most rewarding
experience of my life," Dr. Pui said. "Progress has been made in the leukemia
treatment and research at St. Jude because of the cohesive teams of clinical
investigators and basic scientists, whose unique skills ensure that
discoveries are rapidly translated into clinical advances. This new leukemia
Web site speaks to that team approach for treating our patients. More than
45 clinicians and researchers are a part of this team."
Members of the Information Technology Services and Public Relations
departments at St. Jude and iXL developed this site in collaboration with
faculty and staff in the Hematological Malignancies Program.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, in Memphis, Tennessee, was founded
by the late entertainer Danny Thomas. The hospital is an internationally
recognized biomedical research center dedicated to finding cures for
catastrophic diseases of childhood. The hospital's work is supported through
funds raised by the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC).
All St. Jude patients are treated regardless of their family's ability to pay.
ALSAC covers all costs of treatment beyond those reimbursed by third party
insurers, and total costs for families who have no insurance.
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