'90 Day Fiancé' Star Deavan Clegg, 25, Gives Paid Updates On Son's Leukemia
- Deavan Clegg, former star of the realty TV show "90 Day Fiancé," is offering cancer updates for a subscription fee.
- She’s offering to share videos of herself chronicling her three-year-old son Taeyang’s leukemia updates on a site where followers pay a subscription fee.
- Taeyang, 3, was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in May 2022.
- It’s a type of leukemia where the bone marrow makes too many immature lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell.
- Taeyang is expected to pull through since 90% of children go into remission or are cured of the disease.
That's what show alum Deavan Clegg, 25, is doing, sharing videos of herself chronicling the leukemia journey of her three year old son Taeyang.
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"We now have a subscription option on Instagram!," Deavan shared in her Instagram Stories, along with a photo of Taeyang playing during a doctor's visit. "We will be giving exclusive daily updates on Taeyang and the family. As well as subscription only lives twice a week." Clegg shares her son with her ex, Jihoon Lee.In May 2022, Clegg told her followers in her IG Stories, "After an almost two-year battle, I am officially DIVORCED. I couldn't be happier."
Clegg is also raising her 6-year-old daughter Drascilla and is currently expecting her third child with her boyfriend of two years, Topher Park.
"We are happy to [announce] baby Park will be arriving Fall 2022," Clegg wrote in an Instagram post last May, complete with a family photo.
The post surprised many of her followers who’ve long watched her on the show “90 Day Fiancé” which airs on Sundays on TLC.
Taeyang was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in May 2022.
He's expected to pull through since 90% of children go into remission or are cured of the disease.
The toddler has started a grueling, two-year-long treatment process that includes chemotherapy.
Since Taeyang's diagnosis, Clegg has been updating her fans on his condition, mostly through Instagram.
Her mom, Elicia Clegg, also provides periodic updates via Taeyang's GoFundMe page, which has raised about half of the $50,000 goal.
Understanding Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, is a type of leukemia where the bone marrow makes too many immature lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. It is also called acute lymphocytic leukemia.
Researchers estimate that about 6,660 new cases of ALL will be diagnosed in the United States in 2022.
The risk for developing ALL is highest in children younger than 5 years of age, with a slow decline in risk until the mid-20s.
Then, the risk slowly rises again after age 50.
What Is Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)?
Dr. Olalekan Oluwole, a hematologist with Vanderbilt University Medical Center, previously talked with SurvivorNet about ALL's effect on the body and the type of treatments that work to fight it.
"ALL is a type of cancer that is very aggressive," Dr. Oluwole told SurvivorNet. "It grows very fast. Within a few weeks, a few months, the person will start to feel very sick. And that's why we will have to give it an equally aggressive type of treatment to break that cycle."
All About Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Answers to the Most Common Questions About the Disease
Dr. Oluwole also says the leukemia often resides in the bone marrow, and because it is an abnormal growth, it just keeps dividing.
"It doesn't follow rules, and it doesn't stop," he told SurvivorNet. "Not only that, because this is part of the immune system, the immune system is sorta like the police of the body. So those abnormal cells that have now become cancer, they have the ability to go to many places. They go into the blood, and they often go into the tissue or the lining around the brain."
Understanding Childhood Cancer
Treatment advances in recent decades have lead to 84 percent of children with cancer now surviving five years or more, according to the American Cancer Society. This is up from 58 percent from the mid-1970s.
But according to the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, more than 95 percent of childhood cancer survivors have significant health-related issues because of the current treatment options, and only 4 percent of the billions of dollars spent each year on cancer research and treatments are directed towards treating childhood cancer in the United States.
Since 1980, fewer than 10 drugs have been developed for use in children with cancer while hundreds of drugs have been created exclusively for adults.
Dr. Elizabeth Raetz, director of pediatric hematology and oncology at NYU Langone's Perlmutter Cancer Center, reminded us in a previous interview that there is still reason for hope.
"There are also targeted treatments and different immunotherapies that have been studied in adults and have now moved into clinical trials for children and there has been a great deal of excitement in the community about that," Dr. Raetz told SurvivorNet.
Still, navigating a child's cancer diagnosis can be tricky.
The Impact of a Childhood Cancer Diagnosis on the Whole Family Jayne Wexler Shares Her Story
Jayne Wexler's son battled acute lymphoblastic leukemia and now deals with heart disease as a side effect of chemotherapy.
In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Wexler explained that in addition to regular parent worries having a child with cancer means living with a whole new world of anxieties.
"My husband and I will always have fear," she said. "I don't think we can ever let go of that. Just when he was OK, then he relapsed, and then he had the bone marrow transplant … so there's always some sort of worry."
Wexler admits she tries to live for each and every day, but its understandable that this does not always come easy.
"And I do try you hear people say this we do have to live each day and be thankful for what we have," Wexler said. "And it's hard to remember that when you're caught up … it's very hard to just sort of enjoy the moment, because we just don't know what's going to happen in the future."
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