Search Results
Callie
In January 2016, I was diagnosed with stage II Hodgkin lymphoma. I was four months pregnant at the time, and it was decided to carry to term because this type of blood cancer is a slower spreading cancer.
In May 2016, I had a healthy boy and 10 days later began my first of many chemo treatments. The following October I had my last treatment and I was excited to get back to "normal" life.
Luis
I used to donate blood at least three times a year. I did it as a way of helping others and never realized it would one day lead to me being diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome. But that’s exactly what happened in 2006, when a case of anemia kept me from donating blood that year.
Keana
Hello, my name is Keana. I am 26 years old, and I was born in Columbus Ohio. I was born with a rare heart condition called “hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.” It is a hereditary disease on my mother’s side. Many family members, including my mother, have passed away from the disease, and the other half received heart transplants, which is what led to me. I recently got my heart transplant in September 2021 and was admitted to the hospital for three months, one before and two after. After my heart transplant, I came in contact with COVID.
Tim
I was diagnosed with follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in preparation for heart surgery. While my disease was stage 3, it was also slow-growing, and I went ahead and had open-heart surgery in January 2022 to repair a valve. Six months later, my disease had advanced, and I began four rounds of Rituxan® which did not work sufficiently. However, in that interim, I signed up for the Boston Marathon ― which goes by my house ― to run for Dana Farber where I am being treated.
Sherri
I have donated to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) for many years. This year I wanted to do more in honor and loving memory of my dad, Frederick.
Edmund
U.S. veterans’ sacrifices can occur on the battlefield … or much later.
Houseboys sprayed Agent Orange on weeds around the Quonset huts of Edmund Montefusco and his fellow soldiers in Korea in the early 70s, but it was decades before Edmund’s rare, slow-growing hairy cell leukemia made itself known.
Anthony
December of 2017 was a difficult time for me. It is the month that is usually filled with happiness, excitement and Christmas cheer. For me, it was the month I found out that I had Hodgkin lymphoma. It’s crazy when you think about it – we see all of these facts and figures about people who are diagnosed with cancer and we never, really, truly believe it could happen to us.
Zeena
As an oblivious 14-year-old, I never imagined that I would soon go through the most difficult journey of my life. While on summer vacation with my family, we quickly realized I was not my energetic, joyous self. My favorite activities seemed like energy-draining tasks, and my large appetite had suddenly disappeared. The once quick trip up the stairs turned into a painful trek up a mountain and a walk down the street to a treacherous marathon with no end.
Shelley
I went from being in the best shape of my life to battling cancer in only a few short months.
Three years ago, I made the choice to change my lifestyle, and I lost 100 lbs., which I can honestly say has saved my life. Prior to my cancer diagnosis, I was sharing my weight loss journey online to help others make positive choices. Little did I know that I was about to fight the biggest battle of my life!
Eliot
It was my senior year of high school, and I was thriving: MVP of the soccer team that went to the state finals; strong academics with an offer to study Natural Sciences at Durham University, one of England’s finest; fantastic friends who were to become even more important to me. My biggest challenge was getting a date for the prom! Things that were within my control were going really well. However, things outside of my control then flexed their powerful muscles, and that high school life ended and a new one began.
Seth
It was in my sophomore year at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs right around March 2021 when I first discovered the lump in my neck. I was simply doing homework at my desk, and my hand unconsciously brushed against my neck. I stopped and started to feel the unusual lump in my neck.
Soon after that, the tests started.
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.
Mara
I was in my second to last year of nursing school and just over one year into my marriage when the headaches became too much to bear. I was 21. I was tired all of the time, but I was working in a busy ER and going to class when I wasn't at work. I had lost some weight, but I had been exercising more and getting a lot while working in the ER. I had a cough, but they tell you that you'll be sick a lot when you're in nursing school. Unfortunately, I happened to touch my neck one day while studying with classmates for a big exam. There was a lump there that I had never felt before.
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.
Cassie
Cassie Fetsch is a regular volunteer for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Minnesota chapter. When school is out, staff members can count on Cassie to be in the office folding letters, stuffing and labeling envelopes, counting Team In Training brochures, cleaning out drawers or putting together pizza boxes. Since Domino's sponsors LLS's Pennies for Patients program, they donate all the boxes to ship campaign supplies. This year, Cassie assembled boxes for more than 800 schools!
Cary
Cary was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in the fall of 2012. After spending more than 100 days in the hospital, undergoing intense chemo treatments, and blood transfusions Cary is now in remission. You can only imagine the struggle and heartache a cancer diagnoses was at only 33 years of age with a wife, 3 small boys, and a career.
Joe
My son Joe was 5 years old when he was diagnosed with T-cell leukemia just three days after the birth of his brother Cole – Joe was admitted to the ICU, and on Sunday, the next day, they did a spinal tap and a bone marrow biopsy. At midnight that night, he started his chemotherapy treatments.
In the first 30 days, his bone marrow had cleared to zero, and he was technically designated as a “low risk rapid responder.” All things being equal, he has done a phenomenal job through this.
He is in long-term maintenance and he finished his treatment on December 13, 2014.
Nandini
Everything was picture perfect in my life. A beautiful family with two beautiful daughters and husband. And then, in March 2009, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
I had been recovering from aplastic anemia since 2002. However, AA progressed into AML. A transplant was the best cure available and a kind unrelated donor was found who gave a new lease to my life. After a painful bone marrow transplant recovery, I am now in remission. My older daughter just went to college and my younger daughter is in fourth grade.
Myra
Over the course of Myra’s career in oncology nursing, she’s seen the hurdles that families face and heard from patients about the daily struggles to access the care they need to stay alive. Unfortunately, she is too familiar with patients who are forced to choose between life-saving treatment and going against a doctor’s recommended treatment plan simply because the cost is too high.
Dean
In October 2015, after a trip to the ER with pain in my abdomen, I was diagnosed with stage 3, large B cell, multiple location, non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
My oncologist originally told me that the treatment plan would include 10 chemotherapy rounds, followed with radiation. I was out of work for eight weeks until my doctor decided I was in good enough health to return work.
Cancer affects everyone in your life that loves you — emotionally and financially. When you are sick, the bills do not stop coming, and in some cases, cancer can ruin people financially.
Lorelai
I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) when I was 11. Throughout my entire cancer journey, I had a lot of people in my corner. But what I found most helpful was following The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) social media platforms and reading the articles on their website. Through LLS, I felt like someone actually understood what I was going through. Recently, I have been one of the very lucky students chosen to receive the LLS Scholarship for Blood Cancer Survivors which will be the reason I am able to continue attending college.