Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 26, 1990 TAG: 9006260102
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium
Anthony and Denise Sancilio are among a handful of parents who are losing their children to a rare form of childhood leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia.
From diagnosis to death, the disease lasts less than a year, according to Dr. Rebecca Byrd, director of hematology and oncology at the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk. Less than 1 percent of children with leukemia have this form, she said.
The Sancilios, however, have hope for Michael's survival. That hope is Michael's newborn sister, Christina Grace.
Doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore are going to try to transplant cells grown from Christina's umbilical blood in hopes the cells will grow new, healthy bone marrow in Michael.
No one is willing to speculate on Michael's chances; the procedure has never before been tried on a leukemia patient. But for the Sancilios a slim hope is better than none.
"We've got a chance. We see lots of kids at the Children's Hospital that don't have any chances. They are there and they are dying," said Anthony Sancilio.
"He's beat all the odds so far. If I were going to bet on someone, Michael's the one I'd bet on," Byrd said.
His family has odds to beat, too.
In August, Michael and his mother will head for Johns Hopkins to begin the chemotherapy leading up to the transplant. The hospital also wants $50,000 before it begins the procedure, which will cost between $150,000 and $200,000. The Sancilios' insurance will not cover the procedure.
"We're not really worried about the money. We can sell the house and all that we have and be perfectly fine," Denise Sancilio said.
Neighbors and friends of the family have raised nearly $10,000.
Michael was diagnosed with the disease in March. The normal treatment for leukemia is a bone marrow transplant, but finding a compatible donor is difficult. None of the Sancilios was compatible, including Michael's 7-year-old brother, Tony. At the time, Denise Sancilio was pregnant with Christina, who was born May 1.
"The doctors warned me that there was a good chance that she also would not be compatible to Michael. But I just knew she was going to match," Denise Sancilio said.
Doctors recently concluded that Michael and Christina are compatible.
The experimental treatment uses blood taken from the umbilical cord at Christina's birth. The blood was sent to Indiana University where unique cells, stem cells, were cultured.
Newborns are born without bone marrow. The stem cells produce bone marrow in the baby's first nine months. The cultured stem cells will be injected into Michael's heart in September by a transplant team at Johns Hopkins. Scientists hope the stem cells will act in the same manner as they would in a newborn and produce healthy bone marrow in Michael. Doctors will have a good idea whether the procedure has worked within a month of the transplant.
Meanwhile, Michael sees his doctor every week. Last week his blood tests were not good. And ear and sinus infection and a blocked tear duct are nagging annoyances he puts up with.
Michael knows that he is sick and that he is going to the hospital to get better. He proudly points to a picture of a bicycle.
"My bike," he softly says. His mother has promised him a bike when he gets out of the hospital.
Denise Sancilio said she takes the disease one day at a time and hopes for the best.
"She handles it a lot better than I do. There's a lot of stress involved, and sometimes I'm just not as patient as I should be," Anthony Sancilio said.
"We don't have enough data to be able to predict all that is involved for Michael in this. But we do know this is Michael's one and only chance," Byrd said.
Donations can be sent to the Michael Sancilio Trust Fund, Dominion Bank, 3936 Portsmouth Blvd., Chesapeake 23321.
by CNB