Navigating Childhood Cancer
- Celebrity trainer Gunnar Peterson has shared words that every parent of a child going through cancer dreams of: He and his wife Jess Peterson’s 4-year-old little girl Monroe Vivian Peterson, a.k.a. “MVP,” is now “cancer-free” after weeks in the hospital fighting AML leukemia.
- AML stands for acute myeloid leukemia, which is a type of cancer that starts in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow. Though AML symptoms can vary from child to child, the most common symptoms are bleeding and bruising easily, bone and joint pain and/or abdominal pain. If your child is showing concerning symptoms, it’s important to act fast to get them care.
- Children with AML need to be treated in cancer centers or hospitals due to the risk of serious complications. If the leukemia does not respond well to initial treatment, a doctor may recommend a stem cell transplant, which is what Monroe endured. These lifesaving treatments replace abnormal blood-producing cells with cells from your child or a healthy donor.
AML stands for acute myeloid leukemia, which is a type of cancer that starts in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow.
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“Monroe was dealt a very difficult and undeserving hand in this cancer fight,” he continued. “Her little 4 year old body endured so much pain and toxicity, yet somehow she managed to turned it into a beautiful outcome with her beautiful spirit.”
“Monroe is coming home with lifelong friendships and memories that we will forever cherish. She received so much love from her nurses and doctors that we never heard a single complaint about missing her life outside of the hospital.”
“To our family, friends and her amazing school community, your support and love helped Monroe feel special, loved, brave and strong everyday,” the fitness guru added in his touching post. “Today we begin a new chapter. We will never forget or take for granted the 139 sleeps or days we spent here at Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital. Thank you all, and Monroe we are so incredibly proud of you.”
“I am sobbing!! Praise the Lord!!!!!!! God bless you all!!” Peterson family friend and former client Khloe Kardashian wrote. “MVP is not only an MVP but the prettiest warrior I have ever seen 🌈🩷🙌🙏🌈💗.”
“PRAISE GOD!!!!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️❤️,” chimed in Kardashian’s mom, business mogul Kris Jenner. Actress Kate Beckinsale also cruised by for some love. “Oh God, Gunnar, this is incredible news. I’ve been thinking of you guys so much. What an absolute blessing and what a fighter and what a family God I’m so relieved for you.. all my love.”
Monroe’s parents and their community of friends and family threw a welcome home party fit for a true warrior princess complete with mermaids, balloons, cake, and best of all, a line of people waving and cheering pink pom poms on the street upon MVP’s much-revered return to the family’s beautiful Nashville home.
Monroe’s AML Leukemia Diagnosis
Gunnar Peterson and his family first announced Monroe’s leukemia diagnosis on March 27.
“This is going to be longer, and cathartically different from my usual fare. Forewarned is forewarned. Life changing turn,” the fitness expert began his post on Instagram.
“Our perfect 4 year old daughter, Monroe Vivian Peterson (MVP, see that?!) had a nagging cough, on and off fever, and an odd pallor to her for a few days last week. Typical kid stuff. Then my wife noticed bruising on her legs which was odd since she hadn’t been very active because of the other symptoms, and she took her to the hospital.”
“Fast forward 4 days ⏩,” Peterson added with a list of all the little girl has endured since the whirlwind diagnosis, including a spinal tap, which is a procedure to remove fluid from your spine. In addition to chemotherapy, Monroe will need “immediate tranfusion(s).”
“She has AML leukemia,” he shared, understandably still processing that his daughter was now a “Make-A-Wish candidate.”
“How the f*#! did we get here?!?!”
“More to come as we navigate the nightmare,” Peterson continued. “Our Warrior Princess will crush this! She has even said it herself! Please hold our daughter, and our family-immediate and extended-in your hearts, thoughts, and prayers. As we are all aware; ‘you never know what someone is going through.’ Already too many thank yous owed so I will spread them out as this unfolds.”
In the comments section, stars like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (and the Kardashian clan) offered their support and optimism for the little girl’s journey. “We’re always here brother. Always,” Johnson wrote. “She will crush this, as she herself has declared. ❤️❤️❤️.”
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Understanding AML in Children
Though AML symptoms can vary from child to child, the most common symptoms, according to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, include:
- Anemia, which causes your child to become pale and/or breathe faster as their cells struggle to carry oxygen
- Bleeding/bruising
- Bone and joint pain
- Abdominal pain
- Recurrent infections
If your child is showing concerning symptoms, it’s important to act fast to get them care.
AML Treatment
The treatment process of AML typically happens very fast after diagnosis.
According to the American Cancer Society, “treatment of most children with AML is divided into 2 main phases of chemotherapy,” which are Induction, the beginning phase of treatment, and Consolidation, which is a more intensive treatment to kill any remaining leukemia cells. It is not yet clear what Monroe’s medical plan will be.
An AML Diagnosis: What are the Next Steps?
ACS also notes that children with AML need to be treated in cancer centers or hospitals due to the risk of serious complications.
If the leukemia does not respond well to initial treatment, a doctor may recommend a stem cell transplant, which Children’s Hospital Los Angeles explains is a lifesaving treatment that replaces “abnormal blood-producing cells with cells from your child or a healthy donor.”
These lifesaving treatments replace abnormal blood-producing cells with cells from your child or a healthy donor.
Navigating Childhood Cancer
According to the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, 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.
Clinical trials are a critical tool when it comes to advancing drugs, as research obtained in these trials is required to get federal approval for any new treatment that hits the market. These trials play a huge role in advancing cancer care, as well as treatments for any other illness. But there is a huge lag in drug approvals when it comes to advancing therapies for children. In fact, the average time between regulatory approval and the labeling of new therapies for adults and children is nearly 10 years.
The Impact of Childhood Cancer on the Whole Family
SurvivorNet previously spoke with Dr. Cindy Jackson, a pediatrician and chief operating officer at the Institute for Advanced Clinical Trials in Children (I-ACT for Children), about why approvals for pediatric drugs take so much longer and what can be done to close that gap so that children can get the care they need.
Unfortunately, according to Dr. Jackson, there is not a whole lot of incentive for pharmaceutical companies to study drugs for children. Children make up a very small number of people with chronic illnesses or conditions that require serious therapies. For example, when it comes to cancer, the American Cancer Society estimates that around 9,620 children in the U.S. under the age of 15 will be diagnosed with cancer. That’s compared to over two million new cancer cases in total.
“Clinical development is done by for-profit companies,” Dr. Jackson explained. “Those for-profit companies sell drugs to help patients, but they also need to make a profit. The market in pediatrics is very, very small. Only 25% of the population is less than 18, and even fewer of those under 18 years old have chronic conditions that will require long-term therapy—there’s no market advantage really.”
Because of this small number, the companies that make and study drugs may not see financial opportunity in putting resources into pediatric clinical trials and that’s a real issue. Legislation passed in the U.S. the Pediatric Research Equity Act (PREA) and Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (BPCA) aimed to incentivize drug makers to study treatments for children, and required these studies in certain situations, but there is still a lag.
“Were it not for those rules and regulations, these trials wouldn’t be done,” said Dr. Jackson. “There’s very little incentive for pharmaceutical companies to do those trials, but the laws are very helpful.”
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