Did anyone ever hear about a fungal infection that can take over a body because the immune system is weakened?

Question

Less than a month ago, a friends 11 year old daughter was life lined to the Children's Hospital. She had fainted and would not respond. After testing her, she was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Lukemia. Her treatment plan was chemotherapy for 10 days, hospital stay of 20, home for 2 weeks. She had chemotherapy for 10 days, the following day, she was unresponsive, and the doctor's did not feel she was going to pull thru the night. She did, and further testing revealed she had fungal lesions on her lungs, etc. They operated on her, and removed the lesions, did a bone marrow test, it is now negative for lukemia. It has been two days since the surgery, and we received word that the fungal infection is taking over her body, and there is pretty much no hope left for her. There is an experimental drug out there, but will not receive it before Friday, if she can hang on. Has anyone heard of this?

Answer 1

Yes, this can happen, if it is not diagnosed early and you don't take care of it it can spread.

Answer 2

It is so sad, but yes it does happen. Someone with AML would have a weak immune system because the diseased cancer cells are taking over in the bone marrow and the cells that provide immunity are decreased. Then chemotherapy is given and that destroys the cancerous cells in the bone marrow but also destroys the cells that provide immunity also. These patients can get bacterial or fungal or viral infections. Candida, Cryptococcos, Aspirgillis - I am not up on the names of all the organisms that can cause infection. I am a Blood Banker. Sometimes for severe life threatening infection they try granulocyte (WBC) transfusions which take 24 hours to prepare and must be given daily for 5 days.
I hope this little girl survives. Have a co-worker whose son is undergoing chemo this week for leukemia.

Answer 3

There are several fungal infections that affect people with weakened immune systems, these people usually have either AIDS or an autoimmune disease. One of the most popular fungal infections would be Pneumocystis carinii which is a form of pneumonia but there are several others they include Candida, Fungal Meningitis, and Aspergillis

Answer 4

Im very sorry to hear about your friends daughter, my daughter has finished treatment for AML which was diagnosed last October. She had to take this awful oral medication to stop a fungal infection which we were told would be life threatning if she got it. When there immune system is low its harder to treat infections, my daughter had warts and when her immune system was low they started popping up everywhere and hurt. Once her blood counts returned to normal they all dropped off. I know its not the same as a fungal infection, just an example of how the immune system plays a huge role. My prays are with her.

Answer 5

Yes, there are many fungal infections, but not always related to any immune disorder. Some are caused by deficiencies of things such as selenium. In certain parts of America, there are specific fungi that affect the lungs and are often mis-diagnosed because of their similarity to respiratory infections. Unfortunately, many of the diagnostic exams take some time as well as astute physicians to decide a course of treatment. I would guess that the family physician had, or the parents had overlooked symptoms that might have might have slowed the course of the disease. Leukemia is serious but with chemo-therapy and good care, life can be prolonged.

Answer 6

most fungal infections are opportunistic infections. when the body's immune system is compromised (cancer [leukemia], AIDS, extremely young, extremely old/aged, those using corticosteroids), these organisms that are part of the normal flora become pathogenic and may cause diseases. Those fungi that cause pneumonia are those of the Candida species, Aspergillus species, Mucor species, Cryptococcus neoformans and Pneumocystis carinii (although P. carinii taxonomy is debatable, protozoa or fungi?).

With suppressed/dysfunctional/weak immune system, these organisms can go systemic and involve the other organs as well. When that happens, infection is very difficult to contain and prognosis is bad.

Answer 7

I have heard of a fungal infeciton that can take over the body of a person with a weakend immune system. Sadly, I can't remember the EXACT name, but it IS possible. The question would be, what caused your daughters immune system to get weak enough if she does not have lukemia? Good luck!

Answer 8

Yes, there are a number of fungal infections that can do this. The problem with these cells is that they are like us. Bacteria are not. If you give a drug that attacks fungal growth, it also attacks the person you give it to. If the daughter is undergoing chemo at the same time, this is not a good thing!

Answer 9

I've heard of candida (candida albicans) overgrowth getting into most parts of the body. It usually follows a course of antibiotics. I've also heard that a product called colloidal silver will kill it. I had toenail fungus for years and Lamisil only cured it for a few months. When it came back, I tried colloidal silver and it cured it. I've been fungus free for 6 months, so far. It's available at well stocked natural supplement stores or online. One teaspoon twice a day should do it. If purchased from a reputable source, it's totally harmless. It's been around for at least 60 years. Doctors don't like it because it takes business away. Good luck.

'nuff said?

Answer 10

yes. I hope she recovers soon.