GIVES
infant
A SHOT AT LIFE
I n
SIDE
2
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
CLASSES AND EVENTS
3
30TH ANNIVERSARY
THREE DECADES OF CARE
6
CANCER CARE
EXPERTS IN LIVER CANCER
7
WIRELESS MONITORING
YOU DON’T HAVE TO STAY IN BED
LIFE AFTER CANCER.
“It’s
a C Thing”
helps young
survivors thrive.
SEE PAGE 4
M E T H O D I S T H E A L T H C A R E — S A N A N T O N I O
●
F A L L 2 0 1 5
To learn more about Methodist Children’s Hospital’s world-class Pediatric Blood
and Marrow Stem Cell Transplant program, visit
www.SAHealth.com/pediatricbmt.Be the match
In honor of those battling blood cancers, a team
of caregivers from Methodist Children’s Hospital is
holding Bone Marrow Registration Drives in our hospital
cafeterias throughout the coming months. Their goal is
to raise awareness of the need for more bone marrow
donors and to have people register to become donors.
If you would like to register to become a donor, please
visit
www.BeTheMatch.org.
After several weeks, little Anahee’s condition had not
changed, so Sauceda decided it was time for a second
opinion. “I just knew something was wrong and decided
to take Anahee to another doctor,” says Sauceda.
This is when the nightmare started. The new doctor
ordered an x-ray, which revealed a mass in the baby’s ab-
domen. Sauceda was quickly dispatched to San Antonio for
advanced care. It was in San Antonio that Anahee was di-
agnosed with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML).
“JMML is a very rare and aggressive form of leukemia,”
explains
Robert P. Sanders, MD,
pediatric and blood and
marrow transplantation physicianwithMethodist Children’s
Hospital’s Pediatric Blood andMarrow StemCell Transplant
program, who cared for Anahee. “JMML is a particularly
tragic disease because it typically affects infants and very
young children, and despite our best treatments, only about
50 percent of children afflicted with JMML survive,” says
Sanders. The only cure for JMML is a stem cell transplant,
which Anahee received at Methodist Children’s Hospital, a
campus of Methodist Hospital.
Methodist Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Blood and
Marrow Stem Cell Transplant program is the only pro-
gram of its kind in South Texas and one of the busiest in
the country. Methodist Children’s Hospital was Anahee’s
home for five months.
“Anahee had an especially difficult course and almost
did not survive long enough to make it to transplant,” says
Sanders. “When we looked for a bone marrow donor we
had very limited options, because relatively few Hispanics
are registered as potential donors. Without the availability
of umbilical cord blood, we would not have been able to of-
fer Anahee a transplant, and she would not have survived.”
“I thank God each and every day for giving us
A
s a first-time mom, Gladys Sauceda
was nervous that her 2½-month-old
baby girl, Anahee, seemed bloated
and couldn’t keep food down.
Sauceda, who lives in Laredo with her family,
immediately took Anahee to her pediatrician,
who told her things were normal and chang-
ing the baby’s formula would help.
Dr. Sanders and all the wonderful people at Methodist
Children’s Hospital,” says Anahee’s grandfather, Rolando
Sauceda, holding back tears. “Dr. Sanders saved our baby.”
“It has been an honor to be part of the team that cared
for Anahee and a pleasure to see her flourish after trans-
plant,” says Sanders.
Although Anahee had a fairly bumpy transplant course,
she eventually recovered and is now a normal, happy 2-year-
old, with no signs of JMML.
“I think it’s just amazing how Anahee recovered,” says
Sauceda. “She loves being with other kids, and she loves day
care, where she’s now learning her letters and numbers …
she’s a very happy little girl.”
BONE
MARROW
TRANSPLANT