Jared Minikus is the son of Steve and Dianna Minikus and the little brother of Cody. He is six years old and from Denver, Iowa. Jared's symptoms began with swelling of the eyes in the spring of 2007. On August 9, 2007 Jared was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). AML is a cancer of the bone marrow, the spongy tissue inside the large bones of the body where blood cells are made. In AML the bone marrow makes large numbers of immature white blood cells called blasts. These blast cells crowd out the normal cells of the bone marrow. They may flood the bloodstream and invade vital organs such as the brain, testes, ovaries, or skin. These cancerous AML cells can sometimes form a solid tumor called a chloroma. Nearly 500 children in the US are diagnosed with AML every year and half are cured and remain in remission for five years with standard therapy. As with any cancer you are always facing the odds. The overall goal is to help find a treatment to increase these odds.

The course of treatment that Jared is receiving is standard chemotherapy. The chemo that he receives is at a very high level and knocks his immune system completely out. Because of this, Jared and his family spend most of their time in Iowa City at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital. The goal is to get Jared and other children into remission and keep them there. Many children with AML do need bone marrow transplants. In Jared's case we are hoping that he will not need one. Jared's course of treatment ideally will be over sometime in the early spring of 2008. If he does not stay in remission, at that time he will also need to have a bone marrow transplant.

Our family feels very fortunate to be receiving care in Iowa City here at the Children's Hospital. The doctor's and staff are wonderful and make us feel a little more comfortable with our Jared's treatment. We have also received great support from a group called Dance Marathon. They have helped us emotionally and financially with providing meals for the pediatric families. Jared just loves his D.M friends and looks forward to their visits when we are here in the hospital. In fact, he is already practicing his dance moves for the big dance in Feb.

We will hope and pray for the best for Jared and all of the children that have to endure this rough journey.

Sincerely,

The Minikus Family