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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-03-26, Page 30Supplement to the Goderich Signal -Star, Clinton News -Record, Seaforth Huron -Expositor, Exeter Times - Advocate and Wingham Advance -Times Wednesday, March 28, 1984 5�4 Discovery in diagnosing and treating leukemia TORONTO (CP) - In a discovery that has. opened a door to scientists around the world, Canadian researchers have isolated a gene that may be the key to unlocking the puzzle of the body's immune system_ The discovery ends a 20 -year search for the gene by scientists worldwide and is hoped to be a breakthrough in diagnosing and treating leukemia and other diseases linked to the body's defence system. Cancer doesn't have to mean death says Clinton teenager BY JOANNE BUCHANAN When Dennis Florian of Clinton was 10 years old, he recalls that he "basically felt lousy every day". He was tired all the time and had frequent headaches and an upset stomach. A doctor discovered that Dennis had an extremely high white blood cell count and also noticed two lumps on his neck. The lumps had grown so gradually that Dennis says he had never noticed them himself. He was sent to the head of Children's Cancer Research at War Memorial Hospital in London. There he was finally diagnosed as having Non Hodgkins Lymphoma, a cancer that was rare for a person of his age. He was almost 11. "When you're that age, you don't know very much. All I knew was that cancer was a disease that was suppose to kill and when I found out `,,' Ihad,� ,i�t, I spent three days lying in wondering when I would die,", remer berg- Dennis who is now 15. After the initial diagnosis, Dennis spent the next four months in hospital. During that time, he snapped out of his depression and decided he wasn't going to die. "It must have been boredom or just plain stubbornness that snapped me out it," he says. He spent a lot of time in the hospital library watching film strips and doing his own research on cancer. "One surprising thing about cancer patients is that they don't know a lot about the disease. I wanted to know all about it and I learned a fair bit of medicine,". says Dennis. He had asked himself the most common question, "Why me?", but says his research showed him that a lot of people have a chance of getting cancer so he reasoned, "Why not me? After he was sent home, Dennis travelled back and forth to War Memorial' Hospital in London every week for 18 months of chemotherapy treatment and he also went to Victoria Hospital for two weeks of cobalt treatment. Russ Jervis, a volunteerdriver with the Clinton Branch of the Canadian Cancer Society, took him there and back. Dennis' mother Audrey travelled with them. "We never missed a day oftreatment, even in the worst winter weather and Dennis turned out to be a real little fighter," recalls Audrey. Dennis suffered the usual side-effects associated with chemotherapy treatment. He was extremely weak and sick for three or four days after each treatment and eventually all his hair fell out. - He had his- -last _-chemotherapy -..treatment in June of 1981. Up until six months ago, he had to go back to the hospial for check-ups once a month. Now he only goes once every two months. "I haven't had any problems since I stopped the treatments and I'll have been in remission three years this June. If you survive five years after the treatments, you're considered cured but I feel cured now," says Dennis confidently. As a hospital out-patient, Dennis was tutored at home during his illness and now attends Central Huron Secondary School as a Grade 9 student. He takes regular physical education classes at school and enjoys such other activities as camping and lifting weights. He has belonged to both the army cadet corps in Brussels and the air cadet corps in Goderich and says he may even consider a career in the Canadian army in the future. Dennis doesn't worry about the fact that he has had cancer. Dennis Florian...in remission almost three years Fifteen -year-old Dennis Florian. of Clinton was diagnosed as having Non Hodgkins Lymphoma when he was almost 11 years old. He underwent 18 months of chemotherapy treatment and this June he will have been in remission for three years. (Photo by Joanne Buchanan) "My mother does all the worrying for me," he laughs. "I try not to think about it (cancer) all the time. We're all going to die sooner or later. Since it's inevitable, why worry about it?" He believes that a positive attitude is very important for cancer patients. "There are actual medical records of people with terminal diseases who have lived. You just have to believe that you are NOT going to die. Cancer does not always mean death but if you give up, your chances are nil," he says. While the fact that he has had cancer does not worry Dennis, it has changed his outlook on life somewhat. "I have more desire to leave my mark before I go. I want the world to know I was here," he says. Know the signs of cancer: 10Lump in the neck, groin, breast or armpit 2. Persistant cough 3. Change in a mole 4. Open sore that does not heal 5. Trouble swallowing 6. Blood in urine or stool 7. Prolonged indigestion 8. Change in bowel habits CANADIAN CANCER SOCIETY Biologist Tak Mak, head of the Ontario Cancer Institute's eight -member research team, told a news conference Wednesday, March.7 that the gene will enable scientists to understand how the immune system distinguishes between foreign material to be rejected and the body's own cells. Researchers at Stanford University in California also announced Wednesday, March 7 they have isolated the gene, but from mice cells instead of the human cells used by the Canadian team. "The immune system has been like a maze," Mak said. "We found the entrance to the maze. "In the next five to 10 years, there will be hundreds, if notthousands, of scientists go- ing in there trying to work out the different parts of the maze." Mak said the gene carries cellular infor- mation needed to produce a "receptor" pro- tein on the surface of T lymphocytes, cells that play a vital role in protecting the body against disease. "By cloning the gene, we are able to understand the code and manner by which the T-ce77lll, receptor is capable of searchingitkianyt. anal ankilt,itoff."� 1)r. Mark Minden, staff physician and researcher at the institute's Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, told reporters he is already using cloned genes as a "probe" in diagnosing leukemia. Minden said the probe distinguishes between different types of leukemia, help- ing doctors determine the type and severity of therapy needed to treat the disease. The cloned genes may make it possible for doctors in remote areas to send tissue samples for analysis without the leukemia patient having to travel, Minden said. Mak, who cautioned that use of the gene is still at the research stage, said the T-cell receptor will be used in investigating such diseases as rheumatoid arthritis and AIDS, acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Researchers also hope the discovery will lead to the ability to halt, rejection of transplanted organs and the danger of transplanted bone marrow attacking the recipient's body. Mak said the body's immune system also contains B cells, which produce antibodies to disease, but are useless without their partners, the T cells. The gene's discovery may lead to an understanding of how the two cells combine to fight off bacterial and viral disease. "Bubble babies," children who must live in isolation chambers or bubbles because their bodies cannot fight off disease, have "all kinds of B cells" but are missing T cells, Mak said. Research with the isolated __geone may lead to treatment for the condi, _ _.... -- - "Now that we've found the blueprint, and we know the entrance to it, we can easily go into particular patients" and find what is wrong, Mak said. "We would not be surpris- ed that in the future we will be treating diseases with specialized, custom-made biotechnological products instead of drugs, drugs, drugs." Dr. Ernest McCulloch, head of biological research at the cancer institute, said about - $300,000 has been spent on the project so far. The money has been,., provided by the Medical Research Council of Canada, the National Cancer Institute of Canada and the Ontario Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation. But McCulloch warned that despite the gene's discovery touching off an explosion of research, it will be many years before the gene will be used directly for testing in humans.