Dear S.,
My heart goes out to you and my prayers are with you. I don't have experience with pediatric ALL but we recently went through this with a close adult friend.
Philadelphia chromosome associated with ALL is somewhat rare in children -- only 2 out of 100, to 10 out 100 pediatric cases are associated with this chromosome, which is the results of the end pieces of two chromosomes (#9 and #22) changing places. It usually arises in a single cell and and grows from there. The philadelphia chromosome is more commonly associated with CML (chronic myelogeonous leukemia), and unfortunately, it is more difficult to treat.
Leukemia is a complex disease. I recommend that you listen to the experts in this field when it comes to medical advice. There was someone who suggested you visit an herbalist -- be very careful with this. While many herbal remedies can be helpful, most have not been tested objectively. They can be helpful, but they can also be very harmful. The person mentioned her mother experience new vascular growth to a badly damaged heart: while this is important for heart disease, this would definitely be something you would NOT want to promote in a person with cancer (especially if you're dealing with a solid tumor, which you're not) as all you would end up doing is feeding the cancer and increasing its growth rate. Also, she mentioned that by the time her mother died, her liver was destroyed and her kidneys were failing. This type of damage is generally caused by toxic activity and can be a direct effect of many herbal remedies. Remember, herbs can be very powerful drugs. The ancient pharmacopeia relied on them, and they do work, although often not as specifically as developed drugs. Many drugs have herbal origins. If you do decide to use herbal therapy in combination with chemotherapy, make sure the doctor knows and responds accordingly or you can end up setting up a lethal situation.
Also, I assume your doctors have profiled your daughter's disease completely. This should be able to tell them (and you) how well her leukemia will respond to therapy, and what therapy to use. Make sure they're keeping up with current research: a report that was issued last December showed that using Imatinib can dramatically improve long-term survival in children with ALL who have the philadelphia chromosome (85% of the children in the trial were disease free for at least two years, vs. 38% of the children who did not receive this therapy: see http://www.docguide.com/news/content.nsf/news/85257102005....
As I'm sure your doctors have told you, you and your daughter are probably in for a long and possibly rocky road. You will need as much support as you can get; financially, emtionally, and physically. Find a close friend or family member who can be a point person for you and ask them to coordinate help and support for you. I highly recommend a website: http://www.lotsahelpinghands.com
This site will let you/your point person set up a coordinated help site for you. DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR AND ACCEPT HELP! Let people do your shopping, bring you meals, help clean house, do laundry, etc. If you're a member of a religious community, see if they will help you set up a tax-exempt fund that people can donate to help you out. If not, see if your daughter's school can set something up.
If your daughter's doctors have mentioned the possibility of her needing a bone marrow or stem-cell transplant, ask a few people to set up some drives to add donors to the national bone marrow registry (www.marrow.org). This takes some time and effort, but is very rewarding for everyone involved. Even though it is unlikely that a donor would be turned up through a local event, the more people who are included in the registry, the greater the chance that a match will be made for somebody. BTW, the national registry is linked to the international registry, so a donor can come from anywhere in the world.
Contact City of Hope in Duarte (www.cityofhope.org) -- not only can they help with a bone marrow drive, but they are a wonderful resource for care. Much of the work they do there is pro bono -- they will work with your insurance company to get coverage, but will also give care if there is no insurance or if insurance is maxed out.
Finally, I encourage you to take control of your daughter's care and therapy. Ask questions, demand answers, do research (there's a wealth on line but it can be difficult to read if you don't have the background), join a support group, meet regularily with a personal counselor, therapist, chaplain or other clergy. Prayer can be very powerful and therapeutic. Find a stong shoulder to cry on -- there will be times you'll need it.
Good luck, and may God grant your daughter a full recovery!
R.