AH> That part hasn't changed, apparently. Her treatment lasted for 2   
   AH> 1/2 years... but I was also told it took 3 1/2 years for boys.   
      
   Basically the same, but depending on certain test results, the treatment times   
   in the Maintenance Phase can be less.   
      
   AH> I understand the usual dosage of prednisone is more conservative   
   AH> than it was years ago, however, and from what you said in another echo I   
   AH> take it the effect on your son's behaviour & energy level has been mostly   
   AH> positive. With a higher dosage over an extended period of time, folks   
   AH> tend to act "wired". They are sensitive to noise & light... they may be   
   AH> impatient & irritable... and they can't sleep. I've seen similar effects   
   AH> with virtually everybody I've known who has been in this situation   
   AH> regardless of their age or the medical reason(s) for using such high   
   AH> dosages. According to our Merck Manual they must all have been mentally   
   AH> unbalanced to begin with... but the oncology nurses know better. Like   
   AH> parents, they have far more experience with the "hands-on" stuff... [wry   
   AH> grin].   
      
   He was on the steroid for the first 29 days in a row.  In addition to all the   
   things you noted, he also was eating like crazy.  This then means going to the   
   bathroom like crazy and he ended up with a rash that wouldn't heal until he   
   was off the steroid.   
      
   AH> We had basically three stages... (IIRC) induction, consolidation,   
   AH> and maintenance. Would it be safe to say your son is on maintenance right   
   AH> now, and things have settled down to a point where you can write to us   
   AH> about it...? :-)   
      
   Is is on the "Standard Risk B-ALL".  There is Induction, Consolidation,   
   Interim Maintenance I, Delayed Intensification, Interim Maintenance II, and   
   then Maintenance.     
      
   Currently, we are in the Interim Maintenance I.  It will be around the   
   Nov/December timeframe when we enter Mainenance - which will be much less   
   treatment.   
      
   AH> Ah. It sounded to me as if he might be getting more treatment in   
   AH> the hospital, and less at home, than our daughter did. But I remember one   
   AH> phase in which we had to go to the hospital every day for a week or two.   
      
   We were going to the hospital once every 7 days.  Right now, it is once every   
   10 days.  It varies - and there is a part where it is every day for 4 days in   
   a row - two weeks in a row.   
      
   AH> Good idea. If it's anything like our daughter's protocol, it's   
   AH> quite a challenge to keep track of all this stuff. (Oncology parent   
   AH> joke... "if this is Tuesday, it must be methotrexate.") With umpteen   
   AH> different drugs, each on a different schedule, I was the only living   
   AH> person who had the drill committed to memory. But just in case something   
   AH> unexpectedly happened to me, the oncologist & I kept meticulous records   
   AH> of how these things were supposed to be done. :-))   
      
   I have all the CureSeach papers that plot out everything by day.  That is   
   basically by playbook for this entire process.   
      
   AH> Yes... and just as I feel I prepared myself years ago for the   
   AH> child I had later, I feel you've done the same in your own way. Hang in   
   AH> there.... :-)   
      
   Each week feels like a roller coaster.  We go up (feel better) up until   
   treatment, and then it is back down..  Then back up again.  I just remind   
   myself that he is still much better than the condition he was in when he was   
   first diagnosed.     
      
   - Mark   
      
   --- WWIVToss v.1.50    
    * Origin:  http://www.weather-station.org * Bel Air, MD -USA (1:261/1304.0)