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Rebecca Rau, 15, of Fallon, spent her first Christmas at home since her battle with T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma began in 2005.
"All I wanted was to be out of the hospital and with my family for Christmas," said Rau.
Although Rau does not have acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the type of cases included in the Fallon leukemia cluster, she does have a similar disease, said Dr. Ron Cline, of the Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada in Las Vegas. Rau's treatment should be completed in March or April.
"She will be cured once treatment is complete and she remains cancer free for several years," said Cline.
Cline is one of the doctors who has been treating Rau in Las Vegas for the disease.
"All I wanted was to be out of the hospital and with my family for Christmas," said Rau.
Although Rau does not have acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the type of cases included in the Fallon leukemia cluster, she does have a similar disease, said Dr. Ron Cline, of the Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada in Las Vegas. Rau's treatment should be completed in March or April.
"She will be cured once treatment is complete and she remains cancer free for several years," said Cline.
Cline is one of the doctors who has been treating Rau in Las Vegas for the disease.
"I go to Vegas every time I get sick and once a month for my treatment," said Rau. "Last year I spent every major holiday in the hospital."
Rau said one of her nurses told her, everything bad that could go wrong, has gone wrong during Rau's battle with the disease.
"This is the first 10 days in a row I've felt better," said Rau on Saturday. "I couldn't have done it with support from my entire family."
Rau said the disease has affected her family life, school life and social life. She has remained in contact with only a couple of friends since the ordeal began. However, she has discovered new friends who have helped her continue to be brave.
"My best friend Brianna (Mariezcurrena) has really been there for me the entire time," she said. "I have two favorite nurses I admire a lot. They acted more like friends than just nurses. Both of them have really been there for me."
Rau said one of her nurses told her, everything bad that could go wrong, has gone wrong during Rau's battle with the disease.
"This is the first 10 days in a row I've felt better," said Rau on Saturday. "I couldn't have done it with support from my entire family."
Rau said the disease has affected her family life, school life and social life. She has remained in contact with only a couple of friends since the ordeal began. However, she has discovered new friends who have helped her continue to be brave.
"My best friend Brianna (Mariezcurrena) has really been there for me the entire time," she said. "I have two favorite nurses I admire a lot. They acted more like friends than just nurses. Both of them have really been there for me."
While Rau was in the hospital during one of her stays one of her nurses, Debbie O'Donnel, informed Rau that she had been diagnosed with stage three breast cancer , she said.
"I was in shock. This wasn't supposed to happen to her, she's my nurse and is supposed to take care of me," Rau said. "She would still sit by my side and help me through my pain. This showed me that anyone could get sick like this."
Rau became solemn saying she has met a lot of interesting and brave children at the different hospitals. One boy, Nicholas Patchet, 4, who had neuroblastoma and lost his battle with the disease in the last month, was inspiring to Rau, she said.
"Nicholas had a very hard disease to fight. He was always so strong and I really looked up to him," said Rau choking back tears. "He really taught me a lot. He never stopped fighting and they (hospital staff) never stopped trying to save him. I'll miss him."
Rau said she wants to be a pediatric oncology nurse when she grows up because of kids like Patchet. She said her grandmother is a nurse and she's always wanted to follow in her footsteps. However, since battling this disease, pediatric oncology has become her focus.
"I was in shock. This wasn't supposed to happen to her, she's my nurse and is supposed to take care of me," Rau said. "She would still sit by my side and help me through my pain. This showed me that anyone could get sick like this."
Rau became solemn saying she has met a lot of interesting and brave children at the different hospitals. One boy, Nicholas Patchet, 4, who had neuroblastoma and lost his battle with the disease in the last month, was inspiring to Rau, she said.
"Nicholas had a very hard disease to fight. He was always so strong and I really looked up to him," said Rau choking back tears. "He really taught me a lot. He never stopped fighting and they (hospital staff) never stopped trying to save him. I'll miss him."
Rau said she wants to be a pediatric oncology nurse when she grows up because of kids like Patchet. She said her grandmother is a nurse and she's always wanted to follow in her footsteps. However, since battling this disease, pediatric oncology has become her focus.
"I want to work with kids," she said. "When they need someone to understand what its like, I really will."
T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma is a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, found in less than 3 in 100 adult cases, according to National Cancer Institute's Web site. However, this rare form is found more frequently in children and teenagers. More than one in three of all non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases affects children under the age of 18. It is more commonly found in males than females.
The disease develops from either T- or B-lymphocytes. In four out of five cases being treated, the T-lymphocytes are the affected cells, according to the Web site.
Lymphoblastic lymphoma is very similar to ALL, said Cline. Unlike lymphoblastic lymphoma where the abnormal lymphocytes are generally in the lymph nodes, the cells in ALL are found mainly in the blood and bone marrow, he said. However, both diseases can effect the bone marrow and other organs such as the liver and kidneys. The two conditions are often treated in very similar ways.
"The disease and treatment is basically identical to ALL," he said.
Viktoria Pearson can be contacted at vpearson@lahontanvalleynews.com
T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma is a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, found in less than 3 in 100 adult cases, according to National Cancer Institute's Web site. However, this rare form is found more frequently in children and teenagers. More than one in three of all non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases affects children under the age of 18. It is more commonly found in males than females.
The disease develops from either T- or B-lymphocytes. In four out of five cases being treated, the T-lymphocytes are the affected cells, according to the Web site.
Lymphoblastic lymphoma is very similar to ALL, said Cline. Unlike lymphoblastic lymphoma where the abnormal lymphocytes are generally in the lymph nodes, the cells in ALL are found mainly in the blood and bone marrow, he said. However, both diseases can effect the bone marrow and other organs such as the liver and kidneys. The two conditions are often treated in very similar ways.
"The disease and treatment is basically identical to ALL," he said.
Viktoria Pearson can be contacted at vpearson@lahontanvalleynews.com
