A major reason for the optimistic outlook is that Alex has responded well to a medical protocol constantly being updated and used at 115 pediatric hospitals nationwide, including Children's. Doctors don't know. Then, doctors found that the radiation also affected the children's developing brain cells. Intelligence scores of once bright, active children dropped precipitously. The studies on the current methods are contradictory.
Some studies suggest yes, there are effects on intelligence.
Of course not, Alex's parents agreed. But that does not erase the persistent fear of what the drug bombardment will cause. His fragile immune system immediately made him anemic, prone to infections and internal bleeding. Doctors inserted a plastic shunt in Alex's right chest so they could quickly and easily inject him, or provide blood and platelet transfusions. From those days on, his parents took him weekly to Children's Marty Ostrow Outpatient Oncology Clinic for spinal taps, bone marrow biopsies, as well as injections of the drugs into muscles in his legs or directly into the spinal cord.