Every year a small number of infants are diagnosed with Leukemia. Children diagnosed at younger than a year of age, have poorer prognosis than older children, often because of MLL :

In Infant Leukemia, a gene called mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) breaks and recombines with one of many partner genes to form a translocation, an abnormal rearrangement within a chromosome. Because MLL plays a critical role in blood cell development, the translocation causes the overproduction of defective white blood cells that are the hallmark of leukemia.

During a time when a child should be learning to roll over and take first-steps these children are enduring torturous chemotherapy and transplants. Unique challanges of taking a very young child through treatment are often missed in the large-scale support groups and we hope that this group can be a place for parents to come together, to support each other. I hope too it can be a place to just say what is on your mind, to ask for help and to be heard in a way that only some can understand.

Although there are common traits in Infant Leukemia, every diagnosis is unique and challanging - no single journey cannot be defined by another, and we hope everyone feels welcome here.

We also have some gorgeous children to brag about! Let's put cancer aside and just share photos and stories and be normal parents because we have a lot to be proud of!

(Please send feedback on anything you think would make this group more welcoming to you) Thanks!

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