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Treatment

Parents are advised to

• Seek treatment from a hematologist/oncologist who is experienced in treating JMML, or from a hematologist/oncologist who is in consultation with a cancer center.
• Speak with their child’s doctor about the most appropriate treatment. 

Without treatment, JMML progresses rapidly. There are two widely used JMML treatment protocols: stem cell transplantation and drug therapy.

Helping Siblings Cope

When a child is diagnosed with cancer, everyone in his or her family is affected by the experience, including the child's brothers and sisters. Siblings can feel angry, anxious, lonely or sad. They may even feel guilty for being healthy or for resenting the attention their sibling is getting. You can help your children cope with a sibling’s diagnosis in some of the following ways:

Lauren

At the age of 33, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). I immediately started undergoing treatment which initially consisted of intense induction chemotherapy followed by consolidation chemotherapy and then a haploidentical stem cell transplant. My 64-year-old father was my only donor option as I did not have any matches on the national registry. My two sisters were less than half matches, and my mother’s history of having had a stem cell transplant herself precluded her from donating.

Kessler

Kessler McLaughlin’s life change forever on July 13, 2006. In the months leading up to that day, he was a typical 14-year-old kid, except that he was in pain all the time. Doctors couldn’t figure out why his joints were in so much pain. 

Starlet

When I was born, I was healthy and hardly ever got sick. Well, when I turned one, I had fevers that would come and go and then my mom started to notice I would limp and bruise easily. My mom decided to take me to the hospital after a persistent fever and the limping and bruising got worse. The doctors then referred us to Valley Children’s where they did blood work on me.

After the results came in my parents heard the words no one ever wants to hear: their one-year-old daughter is now diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Lillian & Jerry

In 2011, our son, Jerry, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at three years old, and he has gone through two bone marrow transplants. Though he has been in remission since 2014, he has developed many other diseases due to the treatment and drugs, such as kidney failure, low vision, a compromised immune system, and heart issues. While Jerry was going through cancer treatment, his little sister, Lillian, was born and grew up to be a vibrant and sweet girl. Yet, in an unimaginable twist of fate, the same devastating cancer diagnosis shattered our hope.

Fannie

I was diagnosed in August 2018 with stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), and at that time, I was seven months postpartum with my daughter who was only 7 months old, and my son was 8 years old. It was a surprise to hear that I had stage 4 cancer! But after my oncologist explained to me what HL was and what the treatment was, I knew that it was treatable. I started chemotherapy in October 2018, and after a month of chemotherapy, I relapsed because my insurance company was giving me a difficult time with chemotherapy treatment approval.

Dylan

I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) the summer of 2017, right before the start of my junior year in high school. Due to slow immune recovery after chemotherapy, I experienced many delays in treatment. By spring of the following year, I had a CNS and marrow relapse, requiring me to have a life-saving bone marrow transplant in June of 2018. Following the transplant, my body struggled to produce enough T-cells, which put me in medical isolation for the entirety of my senior year in high school.

Russ

(As told by Russ Parker’s wife Karen A. Parker) In the fall of 2004, Russ was looking forward to a surfing trip to Fiji with his son Rusty and a group of good friends.  He was a real estate developer, surfer, soccer coach, swimmer and runner.

Gina

In November 2016, Gina was diagnosed with Stage II Hodgkins lymphoma (nodular sclerosis). She had just started her second year at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences where she studies diagnostic medical imaging in the sonography program which is an accelerated three year bachelor program. In addition to being a full time student, she works Friday evenings and 10 hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday at an Urgent Care Center.

LLS Researchers

Partnering for Cures – Our Unique Collaborations Span Continents

Lauren

After being diagnosed Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age twenty-two, my battle with cancer led to a very unexpected journey in my life: becoming an author. I’m very grateful to share that I’ve now been cancer-free for eight years, and my debut fantasy novel The Memory Thief was published by HarperCollins in October of 2019.

Amanda

The word “warrior” seems too tame to describe Amanda Monteiro, a volunteer with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). She’s fueled by her desire to prevent another child from being diagnosed, another parent from having to say goodbye. 

Erin

The night of May 21, 2014, looked like any other that my roommate, Erin, and I would have in our San Francisco apartment. I was busy making the next day's lunch when Erin came home and joined me in the kitchen. We caught each other up on our days, cooked, laughed and planned our next fun adventure. I casually asked how her doctor appointment had gone that day.  That’s when she told me that she had been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. A day that looked so normal was anything but.

Andrea

In October 2015, my family had just moved to Texas for a new start.  I had a new career, and two young boys ― a 2-year-old and a 7-year-old.

I wasn’t feeling well and went to urgent care one day where we discovered my white blood cell count was 113. They sent me straight to the ER where I was all alone because we had no one here yet and couldn’t bring the kids to the hospital. Three days later, I was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

Angelika

In early May 2022, I was experiencing a lingering chronic cough that occurred 24/7 ― nonstop coughing, difficulty breathing, and shortness of breath. Coughing fits would be so unbearable. The harder I coughed, most times I would end up vomiting. At this point, as a full-time, stay-at-home mom, it was difficult for me to care for my one-year-old daughter (at the time) as my health slowly declined, and other symptoms started to arise. On July 13, 2022, I decided to see my primary doctor after I broke out in hives and a rash all over my body for an entire week and to address my cough problem.

Max

Heads or tails? The medical research was clear. Soon after making his way into the world, this beautiful and innocent boy was given the chance of making it to 5 years with the same odds as the flip…of…a…coin. Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) has a 5-year event-free survival rate of 50%. Half of the young children that receive this diagnosis don’t make it. Heads. Or. Tails.

Christen

Originally from northern New York, Christen moved to Denver, Colorado, in 2015 after completing her Bachelor of Science of Nursing at Le Moyne College to pursue a career in cancer care. Through a close relationship with her grandparents, she saw how her grandma, a retired registered nurse, graciously cared for her grandpa while he lived with esophageal cancer for close to a decade. The unwavering love, dedication, and courage they shared inspired Christen to seek out a specialty that allowed her to provide compassionate, holistic care to those in need.

Nik

Hello, my name is Nikolas. I am 16 years old, almost 17, and have been battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) for eight years.

Jaziel

Hello, my name is Jaziel, and I am a three-time leukemia survivor. My story began in 2008 when I was initially diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). I was treated for a few years and became cancer-free (remission) in 2011. During my first battle with cancer, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) helped me and my family immensely by assisting us with rent, gas, and sometimes simply sharing the stories of other survivors, encouraging me to keep fighting.

Celeste

Celeste is my daughter; she was 10 years old when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). She had a cough for about two months that just would not go away, and we thought it was her seasonal asthma coming back, so we made an appointment with her pulmonologist. At the appointment, her doctor paid careful attention to everything we were saying and ordered a chest X-ray that showed a large mass in her chest.

We went straight to Boston Children's Hospital and then on to treatment at The Jimmy Fund.

Lynn

In 2013, I heard the words that no one wants to hear, "You have cancer." I was 37 years old, healthy, and an active mom of two. After being sick and misdiagnosed for six months, I finally got some answers: stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), and I started chemo immediately.

Your mind goes to places that you are never prepared for. Two young children that depended on you . . . all the what ifs, what will happen ifs . . .

Andrew

In 2015, I was living in New York City and noticed a lump under my left armpit when I was in the shower. Nobody likes to go to the doctor to talk about strange bodily findings, so I waited for a few months to see if it would magically go away on its own. It didn't. I finally worked up the courage to make a doctor appointment. I showed the lump to my primary care physician, and he said, "Andrew, that's why you came to see me? Just change your deodorant, and you'll be fine." I'm a nice Jewish boy from the Midwest, so I trust doctors implicitly.

Carley

Hi, my name is Carley and I am an angel.  I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in 1995 and I died in 1996. I was 3 ½ years old when I died and I tried so hard to live, but AML was just so terrible and there weren’t a lot treatments back then. My parents were so sad when I went to heaven. I’m still 3 ½ years old because up here in heaven we stay the same age and none of us are sick anymore. It’s truly wonderful up here, but there are still way too many of you coming up here from earth because of AML.

Izarhea

First of all, I want to thank God for keeping me sane as he forced me to grow this year. On June 25, 2023, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), and to be honest, I wasn't tripping at first because I had no idea what that meant. Then my mom explained to me that I had cancer. I went from ending my junior year to celebrating my 17th birthday to getting my port installed and starting chemo all in the same month. I remember telling my dad how scared I was for my whole life to change, but I eventually saw how necessary that was.