On Wednesday, June 17, Cameron went to see Dr. Mark Phelps at the Southern Humboldt Community Clinic. He wasn’t feeling well and his family wanted to find out why. Dr. Phelps, assisted by his wife, Brook, decided to run some tests to see what was going on. Unfortunately, Cameron’s tests came back very suspicious and Dr. Phelps arranged for him to be seen as soon as possible at Oakland’s Children’s Hospital where he was diagnosed with leukemia.
That Saturday Cameron and his mom and dad flew to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee where his diagnosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) was confirmed. AML affects various white blood cells including granulocytes, monocytes and platelets. Leukemic cells accumulate in the bone marrow, replace normal blood cells and can spread to the liver, spleen, skin, or central nervous system.
Approximately 500 children are diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in the United States each year. AML is diagnosed in about 20 percent of children with leukemia. Although approximately 80 to 90 percent of children with acute myeloid leukemia attain remission (absence of leukemic cells), some of those patients have later recurrences. About 60 percent of children with AML achieve long-term remission with chemotherapy or stem cell transplantation.
Chemotherapy is the most common form of therapy for children with AML. Allogeneic stem cell (harvested from bone marrow, cord blood or peripheral blood) transplantation is the preferred treatment for those patients with AML who are at a high risk of relapse or who have disease that is resistant to other treatments. Allogeneic transplants use stem cells from a donor.
According to his mom, Cameron began his chemotherapy on Wednesday, June 24 and will be at St. Jude’s for the next six months receiving treatment.
She said, “Cameron is doing okay. He has very bad moments, but happy ones, too. Also, I would like to ask everyone to not send anything to him right now. His immune system will be to zero after today. The more stuff he receives is more work because we have to wipe everything down every day. Cards will be okay just not stuff. Thank you for all your love and prayers. Please do not stop praying and sending us positive energy.”
The Redwood Times talked to George Tannehill last Wednesday from Memphis. He said they are very fortunate to be able to stay at Target House, where families of kids like Cameron can be near to their loved ones. Tannehill said that if things go well, Cameron will be able to stay with his family at Target House in between his treatments.
Target House is a multimillion-dollar gift from Target Stores. While nothing can completely replace the comfort of home, Target House comes close by providing a magnificent community of fully equipped, two-bedroom apartments in a beautiful setting just minutes from St. Jude. There, families who need to be at St. Jude from 90 days to up to three years or more have privacy, independence, and support.
Tannehill said Cameron’s family truly believes that Dr. Phelps and Brook saved Cameron’s life. He said the doctors at St. Jude and in Oakland said they were very impressed by the treatment he received in Garberville. Many clinic physicians would not have requested these tests be done, but would probably have sent him home, possibly with antibiotics, to see how he felt in a few days.
An account, No. 13885, has been set up for the Tannehill family at the Community Credit Union of Southern Humboldt. On Saturday, July 11, at 4:30 p.m., a barbecue and baseball game will be held at the Redway Little League field to raise money for the family. That same evening, there will be live music with the Bridge Burners in the lounge at Cecil’s in Garberville and a percentage of the bar receipts will be donated to the family.
If you would like to stay in touch with the family you can log on to www.caringbridge.org/visit/prayforcameron and follow his story. The family hopes everyone will send positive and loving thoughts to Cameron and wish him a speedy recovery and return to Southern Humboldt.
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