THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS

++ ARE WITH YOU. I've had to to do research on leukemia as I know nothing about it. Some facts I've found:

• There doesn't seem to be a complete and whole cure for Leukemia.
  
• There are four types of leukemia. I think (hope) he has the 'mildest' case (is there such a thing) which is Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). CLL is a type of cancer where the bone marrow makes too many lymphocytes, which is a type of white blood cell. Basically, as the unhealthy white blood cells divide, they make less room for healthy white and red blood cells as well as platelets, which results in the body's inability or decreased ability to fight infection. This also can bring on anemia and easy bleeding.
  
• Life expectancy is 3-20 years, depending on how far it has progressed.
• There are five stages of progression. The doctors think it's only in it's first stage, which I suppose is the best as far as options and treatments.
  
• At least five different kinds of treatment are options: 1. Watch and wait. 2. Radiation. 3. Chemotherapy. 4. Surgery. 5. Monoclonal antibody therapy. For some reason I always thought chemotherapy involved being exposed to some sort x-ray or radiation, but turns out that's Radiation Therapy. Chemotherapy, as it turns out, involves drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells either by killing the cells or stopping the cells from dividing. There seem to be clinical trials of alternative treatments out in the field, but they are clinical in nature, so there is no assurance the treatment will have any affect, let alone a positive affect as each person is likely to react differently. They've sent away for pills, so I guess the treatments they are using are a combination of watch and wait and chemotherapy.

How does one tell someone else that they may have a disease which could be fatal?
How would I respond to someone telling me I had an 'incurable' disease?
What a sad thought. ++