LEUKAEMIA CARE

Leukaemia CARE was formed as The Leukaemia Association in 1967 by a small group of parents - some of whom had children with leukaemia, others had lost children with the illness. All were aware of the way in which serious illness isolates patients and their families from the community. They joined together for mutual support and friendship and to help families of newly diagnosed patients in the same position. 1983 saw an official change of name to The Leukaemia Care Society along with a change of policy to embrace adult members.

A little on Leukaemia

• Leukaemia is a blood disease, often called 'cancer of the blood'.
• There are a number of different types of Leukaemia and allied blood disorders. All of them prevent the body from producing its normal defences against various types of infection. All of them can kill.
• Up to 14,000 new patients are diagnosed every year. The progression of the disease depends to a large extent upon:
  • a) the type of Leukaemia involved
  • b) the age of the patient.
• Treatment normally consists of courses of drugs and radio-therapy. This may involve frequent and tiring visits to hospital over prolonged periods, often at a considerable distance from home.

The realities

Since those early days, medical science has greatly improved recovery chances. Welcoming as these changes are, they still mean that families can face increased strain from years of uncertainty.

Hospital treatment lasts two or three years and is followed by a further five year period in which the illness may possibly recur. During this time it is not uncommon for parents and other relatives to succumb to stress-related illnesses, for families to divide and sometime disintegrate altogether.

The patient may feel inferior to their friends, isolated and afraid. Recurring infections may result in long absences from work or school and, consequently, in a loss of income or poor academic achievement. Without constant care and support, the future may appear appallingly bleak.

For adult patients, medical progress has been slower. Remission can be interrupted by a recurrence of the disease. It is not uncommon for patients to be plagued by severe side-effects of both treatment and infection. The routine of every-day life, at first interrupted, becomes impossible to maintain.

When the patient is also the family breadwinner, acute financial hardship may be added to the already enormous burden of physical and emotional stress, making life a misery.

For these reasons, Leukaemia CARE has extended its activities to place an increasing emphasis on adult sufferers in addition to continuing its role with children.

Comment from a socialworker

"I have found Leukaemia CARE a great source of help to Leukaemia and allied blood disorder patients and their families. For someone facing Leukaemia for the first time it can be a great relief and encouragement to have a visit from, or be able to talk to, someone who has shared the same experience. What I have found particularly valuable is that, because the Society has a special understanding of the difficulties that can arise, they promote their help in a straightforward and flexible manner, so that it reaches people at the time, and in the form, they need it."

You may well feel that what you have read appears to be unduly pessimistic, but for many leukaemia patients it still unfortunately represents the true picture. Some of the latest treatments developed by the medical profession give significant cause for encouragement, but members of Leukaemia CARE know these can also add to the problems of maintaining the quality of life for the patient and their immediate family, and that each day which the the patient and family can spend happily, in an acceptable environment, represents an achievement in itself.

Leukaemia CARE
14 Kingfisher Court
Venny Bridge
Pinhoe
Exeter
Devon EX4 8JN

0345 673203
01392 460331
admin@leukaemiacare.org
http://www.leukaemiacare.org/

Associated Medical Information