Search Results
Mark
At the age of 18, my dad, Mark Brightbill, was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin lymphoma and underwent chemo and radiation. The Tuesday after my now husband and I got engaged, he was diagnosed with nodular LP Hodgkin lymphoma (after 30 years in remission).
Amy
My story begins on Christmas Eve 2008. My daughter was a 8th grader and was singing her first solo during Christmas Eve mass. I was sick!
Larry
Larry Loose, a great big bear of a man with a penchant for classic cars, off road racing, dirt bikes and living large. This man, my husband of twenty five years, had worked 12-hour days for decades in hopes of being able to retire early, move to the desert and spend our later years as snowbirds in beautiful Arizona.
Jennifer
I remember diagnosis clearly. I was sitting in the UCSF doctor’s office of a man I had not met before a physician I was referred to. I had first gone to a doctor on my Blue Cross Insurance list, a Russian woman who said the word “lymphoma.” I was hoping the foreign word would continue to be foreign. She gave me a referral to UCSF on Fillmore Street in San Francisco close to where I was living at the time.
Amina
I’m 22 years old, and I have stage 3B Hodgkin lymphoma (HL).
Eli
March 16, 2013. I will never forget the moment I first saw the bump. We went to the pediatrician that afternoon. Our doctor looked at Eli and said “Don’t worry. This is not cancer.” A month later we were in for a checkup and a doctor suggested that we should have Riley Hospital take a look. We got into Riley in May and they told us that we would need to do a MRI. I will never forget how we heard over and over “these things are rarely cancer.” After MRI’s and ultrasounds they decided to remove it. This was August -- six months after I had first brought it to their attention.
Jessica
Last spring, I was a normal college junior. I had just returned from spring break in the Caribbean with my best friends, and my biggest problem was party planning my 21st birthday that was coming up.
I had a bump on my neck for a few months at that point. I visited several doctors who all assured me it was just a normal swollen lymph node and nothing to be concerned about. My family decided to fly me home for a weekend to get checked out by my pediatrician who we trust. My pediatrician took the lead for further testing.
Aiden
I am writing to share about my son, Aiden, who is our real superhero and has superpowers that shine bright through his love of dance. From a very young age, we considered Aiden to be our gifted child. He has a free spirit and loves to connect with the world and others in it. His parents have taught him to "dream big" and "reach for the stars" and he can do whatever he puts his mind to.
Mary
I was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) on April 3, 2023.
I had just gotten married in June 2022, and my husband and I were ready to start a family and our life together. I turned 40 years old in July 2022, so I scheduled my first mammogram. My OBGYN wrote a prescription for a sonogram as well considering I have dense breasts. I would have never realized that I needed both if I had not been advised. My cancer would not have been detected with just a mammogram.
Clinical Trials
Taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice for some acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. Clinical trials are under way for patients at every treatment stage and for patients in remission. Today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society continues to invest funds in AML research.
Click here to read more about clinical trials.
Stem Cell Transplantation
Stem cell transplantation is a procedure in which patients receive healthy stem cells to replace their own stem cells that have been destroyed by cancer or cancer treatments. The goal of stem cell transplantation is to cure the patient by destroying the cancer cells with high doses of chemotherapy and then to help the body start a new supply of blood cells.
Clinical Trials
Taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice for some acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients. Clinical trials are under way for patients at every treatment stage and for patients in remission. Today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society continues to invest funds in ALL research.
Click here to read more about clinical trials.
Clinical Trials
Taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice for some chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients. Clinical trials are under way to improve remission rates for CLL. Today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society continues to invest funds in CLL research.
Click here to read more about clinical trials.
Clinical Trials
Taking part in a clinical trial may be the best option for some chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients. Clinical trials are designed to be accurate and very safe. There are clinical trials for newly diagnosed patients, for patients with advanced disease, and for patients who are either intolerant to or resistant to their current medications. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society continues to invest funds in CML research.
Click here to read more about clinical trials.
Jashon
I’m a musician from Missouri, now Tennessee named Jashon Hockaday (Jae Alxndr). I’ve been making music in the fore and background for a while now. My life changed when I was diagnosed with primary non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) of the mandible.
As a new musician, my heart was broken as I couldn’t create the same. As time has progressed, I’ve turned more into an advocate looking to share awareness and help people like myself who didn’t have the infrastructure to give back.
Camdon
My name is Camdon Cherry. I was 14 hours away from graduating with a BS in microbiology from Oklahoma State University when I was diagnosed with acute lymphblastic leukemia (ALL).
I presented to the hospital with staphylococcus infections in my blood and developed COVID-19 while in the hospital so my treatment was delayed for weeks. I am still very early in my treatments as I was only diagnosed on Dec. 1, 2020 and I am currently in induction phase 2 of chemotherapy.
Donna
I was first diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in my 20’s. I had a three-year-old daughter and a husband. I went through six months of chemo and continued working full-time as a nurse in homecare the whole time. I was told that if I was to have a reoccurrence, it would come back as leukemia within 10 years. I harvested my bone marrow after chemo and saved it for the 10-year time frame. I thought I would never get cancer again. However, in 2018, I started not feeling well and was diagnosed in July with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Jonathan
It was July of last year, I had a cold I was getting over and thought I had a sinus infection. I went to an ENT who told me everything was okay. Days later I had swelling in my gums and went to a dentist. They took two X-rays and didn't like what they saw and sent me to an oral surgeon. He did a CAT scan and saw major bone loss. He proceeded to do a biopsy, and days later I had cancer. It turned out to be large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The pathology took a long time, and I was literally dying waiting to get treatment. It was aggressive and stage 4. Life-changing.
Alana
My name is Alana, and I’m 17 years old. Here is my story. On June 29, 2021, I was out having dinner with my family, and my smartwatch told me that my heart rate was really high. So, after we got done with dinner, we went to the ER. There they told me that they had found a mass in my chest and that I needed to be transferred to the children's hospital in Austin, Texas. They did some bloodwork, and then they noticed the swollen lymph node in my neck. That’s when they did the biopsy, and it was confirmed the next day that I had classic Hodgkin lymphoma (HL).
Jennifer
Jennifer has had a long journey with blood cancer but things are finally looking up. It started with a lump on her neck in 2009 that was diagnosed as Hodgkin lymphoma stage 2. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation seemed to work. Then in 2011 a routine PET scan showed a spot on her chest. It was back. A stem cell transplant (using her own cells) got her through that time. But two years later, in 2013, another routine pet scan revealed another spot on her chest near her heart, and it was back for more surgery.
Anna
I was a recipient of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Scholarship for Blood Cancer Survivors this year. I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) on December 23, 2014. I received over 80 doses of chemotherapy, 40 blood product transfusions, and had six infections. One of these infections landed me in the pediatric intensive care unit for seven days with acute respiratory failure and sepsis. I spent 133 days in-patient at the hospital. In May 2015, I left the hospital for good and am celebrating seven years in remission.
Lily
Hello, my name is Lily and I am 14 years old. In November of 2022, I was diagnosed with stage 3 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). At the beginning, I was completely shocked because there was no sign that anything was wrong with my health. It was the hardest news I’ve ever heard in my life. The only thing that I was worried about was if I was going to die or if I was going to lose my hair I am now 2 cycles into my chemotherapy. I have lost my hair and I love my bald look! I finished my last chemo session on April 6th 2023.
Keyla
I was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) three years ago at age 25. I started feeling pain in my neck when I drank alcohol, and then I started noticing my neck lymph nodes getting pretty big. After multiple blood tests, CT scans, and a biopsy of the neck, I was diagnosed with HL. I had to undergo 12 rounds of chemotherapy in total. I was so scared of all of the symptoms ― nausea and my hair falling out (but thankfully, my hair didn’t fully fall out, so I didn’t have to shave it, which was the least of my problems).
Treatment
In general, the goal of treatment is to destroy as many lymphoma cells as possible and to induce a complete remission. Complete remission means that all evidence of disease is eliminated. Patients who go into remission are sometimes cured of their disease. Treatment can also keep non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in check for many years, even though imaging or other studies show remaining sites of disease. This situation may be referred to as a “partial remission.”