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Organ Transplant
What is an organ transplant?
An organ transplant replaces a failing organ with a healthy organ. A transplant surgeon will remove an organ from another person and place it in your body. This may be done when your organ has stopped working or stopped working well because of disease or injury.
Not all organs can be transplanted, and not every province allows every type of organ to be transplanted. Organs most often transplanted include:
More than one organ can be transplanted at one time. For example, a heart/lung combined transplant is possible.
Information taken from https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=ty7522
Osteosarcoma
What is childhood bone cancer?
Childhood bone cancer is a cancerous, or malignant, tumour that starts in bone or cartilage cells. Cancerous means that it can invade, or grow into, and destroy nearby tissue. It can also spread, or metastasize, to other parts of the body. When cancer starts in bone or cartilage cells, it is called primary bone cancer.
Childhood bone cancer is rare. Non-cancerous, or benign, conditions of the bone are more common. Non-cancerous conditions of the bone such as bone cysts, pathological fractures and even infections can have the same symptoms as a childhood bone cancer.
The most common type of bone cancer in children is osteosarcoma. It starts in bone cells and occurs most often during the adolescent growth spurt. It commonly starts in the end of a long bone.
Information taken from https://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-type/bone-childhood/childhood-bone-cancer/?region=on
Osteosarcoma
Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer in children. Almost 50% of all childhood bone cancers are osteosarcomas. They occur most often during the second decade of life during the adolescent growth spurt. They most commonly occur at the sites of the most rapid growth in the end (called the metaphysis) of a long bone. This includes the thigh bone (femur) next to the knee, the shin bone (tibia) next to the knee and the upper arm bone (humerus) next to the shoulder.
Information taken from https://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-type/bone-childhood/childhood-bone-cancer/types-of-bone-cancer/?region=on
Retinoblastoma
What is retinoblastoma (RB)?
Retinoblastoma is a rare cancer of the eye that typically affects children between birth and five years of age. The incidence of RB is one in 15,000 live births, with about 23 children being affected in Canada each year. The retinoblastoma tumor(s) originate in the retina, the light sensitive layer of the eye that enables the eye to see. When the tumors are present in one eye, it is referred to as unilateral retinoblastoma, and when it occurs in both eyes it is referred to as bilateral retinoblastoma.
What are the signs and symptoms of retinoblastoma?
Parents are often the first to notice the signs and symptoms of retinoblastoma. The most common indicator of RB is whiteness reflected in the pupil of a baby’s eye, particularly noticeable when the pupil is dilated. This is known as leukocoria. One or both of the child’s eyes may turn inward or outward as a result of poor vision in the affected eye. Parents often describe this as lazy eye, crossed eyes, or a wandering eye. The medical name for this is strabismus. More rarely, a child’s RB may be indicated by redness and/or swelling of the eye(s).
Information taken from https://opto.ca/health-library/retinoblastoma
Eosinophilic Esophagitis
Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) (pronounced as e-o-sin-o-FILL-ik uh-sof-uh-JIE-tis), is a swallowing disorder that affects the esophagus, the tube that leads from the throat to the stomach. EoE is an allergic response that happens when eosinophils (a type of white blood cell) collect in the esophagus. Food can be a trigger, as can pollen.
Symptoms in children include vomiting, weight loss, or “failing to thrive” (in an infant). Reflux, difficulty swallowing, and chest pain are other symptoms – especially in adults and older children. The condition is difficult to understand as symptoms can change, go away, come back, and even occur hours, days, or weeks after eating an allergen.
EoE is often diagnosed after a long process that eventually leads a person to the allergist. The only way to diagnose EoE is through an upper endoscopy, where a camera is inserted down the esophagus and biopsies are taken. Skin tests for food (or pollen) allergens are usually conducted. Like other food allergies, there are some more common allergens, but it can be caused by any food.In addition to avoiding the allergenic food, other dietary, medication, and experimental treatments are used to treat EoE.
Information taken from https://foodallergycanada.ca/food-allergy-basics/food-allergies-101/what-are-food-allergies/eosinophilic-esophagitis-eoe/
Chronic kidney disease
What is chronic kidney disease?
Having chronic kidney disease means that for some time your kidneys have not been working the way they should. Your kidneys have the important job of filtering your blood. They remove waste products and extra fluid and flush them from your body as urine. When your kidneys don’t work right, wastes build up in your blood and make you sick.
Chronic kidney disease may seem to have come on suddenly. But it has been happening bit by bit for many years as a result of damage to your kidneys.
Each of your kidneys has about a million tiny filters, called nephrons. If nephrons are damaged, they stop working. For a while, healthy nephrons can take on the extra work. But if the damage continues, more and more nephrons shut down. After a certain point, the nephrons that are left cannot filter your blood well enough to keep you healthy.
One way to measure how well your kidneys are working is to figure out your glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The GFR is usually calculated using results from your blood creatinine (say “kree-AT-uh-neen”) test. Then the stage of kidney disease is figured out using the GFR. There are five stages of kidney disease, from kidney damage with normal GFR to kidney failure.
There are things you can do to slow or stop the damage to your kidneys. Taking medicines and making some lifestyle changes can help you manage your disease and feel better.
Chronic kidney disease is also called chronic renal failure or chronic renal insufficiency.
What causes chronic kidney disease?
Chronic kidney disease is caused by damage to the kidneys. The most common causes of this damage are:
- Uncontrolled high blood pressure over many years.
- High blood sugar over many years. This happens in uncontrolled type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
Other things that can lead to chronic kidney disease include:
- Kidney diseases and infections, such as polycystic kidney disease, pyelonephritis, and glomerulonephritis, or a kidney problem you were born with.
- A narrowed or blocked renal artery. A renal artery carries blood to the kidneys.
- Long-term use of medicines that can damage the kidneys. Examples include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as celecoxib and ibuprofen.
What are the symptoms?
You may start to have symptoms only a few months after your kidneys begin to fail. But most people don’t have symptoms early on. In fact, many don’t have symptoms for as long as 30 years or more. This is called the “silent” phase of the disease.
How well your kidneys work is called kidney function. As your kidney function gets worse, you may:
- Urinate less than normal.
- Have swelling and weight gain from fluid buildup in your tissues. This is called edema (say “ih-DEE-muh”).
- Feel very tired or sleepy.
- Not feel hungry, or you may lose weight without trying.
- Often feel sick to your stomach (nauseated) or vomit.
- Have trouble sleeping.
- Have headaches or trouble thinking clearly.
How is chronic kidney disease diagnosed?
Your doctor will do blood and urine tests to help find out how well your kidneys are working. These tests can show signs of kidney disease and anemia. (You can get anemia from having damaged kidneys.) You may have other tests to help rule out other problems that could cause your symptoms.
Your doctor will do tests that measure the amount of urea (BUN) and creatinine in your blood. These tests can help measure how well your kidneys are filtering your blood. As your kidney function gets worse, the amount of nitrogen (shown by the BUN test) and creatinine in your blood increases. The level of creatinine in your blood is used to find out the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The GFR is used to show how much kidney function you still have. The GFR is also used to find out the stage of your kidney disease and to guide decisions about treatment.
Your doctor will ask questions about any past kidney problems. He or she will also ask whether you have a family history of kidney disease and what medicines you take, both prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
You may have a test that lets your doctor look at a picture of your kidneys, such as an ultrasound or CT scan. These tests can help your doctor measure the size of your kidneys, estimate blood flow to the kidneys, and see if urine flow is blocked. In some cases, your doctor may take a tiny sample of kidney tissue (biopsy) to help find out what caused your kidney disease.
Information taken fromhttps://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/aa65427
What is kidney disease?
Kidney disease describes a variety of disease and disorders that affect the kidneys. Most disease of the kidney attack the filtering units of the kidneys—the nephrons—and damage their ability to eliminate wastes and excess fluids.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the presence of kidney damage, or a decreased level of kidney function, for a period of three months or more. Kidney disease can range from mild to severe and in some cases, lead to kidney failure (sometimes referred to as end-stage kidney disease, or ESKD). Kidney disease often starts slowly and develops without symptoms over a number of years, so CKD may not be detected until it has progressed to the point where your kidney function is quite low. Fortunately, most people do not progress to end-stage kidney disease, especially if they are diagnosed early and are able to take steps to preserve their remaining kidney function.
“End-stage” kidney disease does not mean the end of your life. End-stage means the end of your kidney function: your kidneys no longer adequately filter your blood. If your kidneys fail, there are a number of different treatment options including non-dialysis supportive care (conservative care), transplantation, or different forms of dialysis.
Sometimes kidney failure occurs rapidly and this is called acute kidney injury. This may be a result of infection, diseases that specifically attack the kidney filters, or other causes. For acute kidney injury, dialysis treatment may be urgently needed for a period of time, but kidney function often recovers.
Information taken from https://www.kidney.ca/kidney-disease
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. In the past, almost all people who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were (older) adults. As a result, the condition was previously called non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), or adult-onset diabetes.
However, type 2 diabetes is now being diagnosed in teenagers and children. This may be related to a higher body weight or increasing obesity.
In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas still makes insulin. However, either the pancreas does not make enough insulin or the body cannot properly use the insulin that is being released (known as insulin resistance). In either case, this causes blood sugar levels to increase, with the body not able to use the sugar that is in the blood.
Some people with type 2 diabetes can manage their diabetes with exercise and a healthy diet, while others will also require oral medication (pills). If these treatments do not work, insulin injections might also be required.
Information taken from https://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/Article?contentid=1718&language=English
Bone Marrow/Stem Cell Transplant
What is the Difference Between a Bone Marrow Transplant and a Stem-cell Transplant?
There are two different types of transplants: bone marrow transplants and peripheral blood stem-cell transplants (PBSCTs). The difference between the two depends on where the stem cells are taken from. In bone marrow transplants, the stem cells are taken from the bone marrow. In PBSCTs, the stem cells are taken from the circulating blood. PBSCTs are now more commonly performed than bone marrow transplants, as the procedure is easier and the body is able to regenerate new stem cells faster.
Transplants fall into three basic donor categories:
A syngeneic transplant is when the cells are donated by an identical twin. Allogeneic is when the donor’s basic cell is almost identical to the patient’s as with a close relative (brother or sister). Rarely is the basic cell type matched by an unrelated relative.
Autologous is when the patient’s own stem cells are removed from his or her bone marrow or bloodstream. With types of NHL that have spread to the bloodstream or bone marrow, it may be difficult to obtain uncontaminated cells or cells that can be used, even after treating them in a laboratory to remove or kill the NHL cells.
Marrow or cell transplantation is done to replace healthy cells that have been destroyed by cancer treatment. Bone marrow or stem cells that have been removed from a donor are carefully frozen and stored while the patient receives high-dose chemotherapy and sometimes whole-body radiation treatment. This process kills all or most normal stem and bone marrow, while destroying cancer cells. This leaves them defenseless against infection and unable to form blood. After therapy, the frozen marrow or cells are thawed and put back in the body. During the recovery period, all of the body’s systems must be carefully monitored for rejection, infection and the need for any supportive treatments.
Information taken from https://www.lymphoma.ca/lymphoma/patient-journey/treatment/bone-marrow-transplant