Let me start by saying that Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in and of itself is not that rare…in children with leukemia. It’s much less common in adults, and apparently there are several things about Kendall’s manifestation of his particular B-cell ALL that are incredibly unique. Enough so that Kendall has already given permission for articles to be written about him in several medical journals (and possibly textbooks). That was before we learned a bit more yesterday about just how “special” his cancer is. When Kendall had his first bone marrow biopsy done they sent off the results to test for MANY things. Some of that testing has taken longer than others, so his doctor just got some of the results back yesterday. Kendall tested positive for the extremely rare Philadelphia chromosome mutation. The doctors at Huntsman Cancer Hospital have never seen it, and when his doctor reached out to one of the world’s leading specialists in Kendall’s already rare cancer, she had only seen this one time in her entire career.
So….a strange chromosome mutation discovered in a lab. Multiple chemicals being pumped into his body each day altering his body’s chemistry (and some of them a bit experimental since they’re not 100% sure the best way to treat him). If this doesn’t sound like an origin story for either a superhero or super villain, I don’t know what does. Honestly, we think it could go either way. (The facial hair is looking a little sinister….) Any bets out there on potential super powers he might develop? Maybe the super-human ability to walk around and even mow the lawn with a completely broken back? This whole situation has been so surreal. And really, sometimes you just have to laugh. 🙂
