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Treatment Outcomes
The cure rates and survival outcomes for patients with ALL have improved over the past few decades. Today, nearly 90 percent of adults diagnosed with ALL achieve a complete remission, which means that leukemia cells can no longer be seen in the bone marrow with a microscope. Still, despite high remission rates, relapses still commonly occur in adults and survival rates for adult patients remain at approximately 20 to 40 percent. However, these rates can vary significantly, depending on the patient’s ALL subtype and other prognostic factors.
Follow-Up Care
Click here for information about follow-up care, including what to expect, long-term and late effects of treatment, survivorship clinics, and other resources such as The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) treatment guidelines.
Parents of JMML patients are advised to discuss survival information with their child's doctor. The treatment of JMML patients hasn't led to long-lasting remissions in most cases. However, individual factors influence patient outcomes. See Treatment Outcomes.
Side Effects
Before undergoing treatment, patients should talk with their doctor about potential side effects. Drugs and other therapies can prevent or manage many side effects.
The side effects of treatment for myelofibrosis (MF) will depend on many factors, including the type of treatment and dosage, the age of the patient and coexisting medical conditions. Therapy may induce
Lymph Node Biopsy
A lymph node biopsy detects cancer cells in lymph nodes and confirms a lymphoma diagnosis. Surgery is used to obtain all or part of a lymph node (or sometimes another tumor site) because it gives the pathologist or hematopathologist more tissue to examine. The tissue examination may detect cancerous tumors, noncancerous masses or infection. Since treatment differs for various types of blood cancers, a precise diagnosis is needed. A second opinion from a pathologist or hematopathologist may be needed to make the correct diagnosis.
How Is It Done?
Milliman Report
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) advocates for improved access to medications for patients.
J.J.
The first time I remember hearing of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) was through Team In Training (TNT), specifically from a brochure I picked up at a bike shop that invited one to train for a 109-mile bike ride with TNT. It was 2007, and I thought it sounded like a blast. I convinced my girlfriend at the time, Stacey, to join me. We used the occasion to buy some fancy new bikes. With some fundraising and committed training dates, we would be able to say we had done a Century Bike Ride! Cool!
David
On June 17, 2014, 12-year-old David Stim visited his pediatrician's office to have a routine school physical. During the exam, the nurse practitioner noticed an enlarged lymph node on the right side of his neck and surmised that it probably due to a reaction to something, as is almost always the case in pediatrics. Since David had been treated for strep throat the month before, there was not much cause for concern.
Jaime
My name is Jaime. I am married to my best friend, Brad, and we have three children, two daughters and a son. We also have a daughter and son in-law plus five beautiful grandchildren. I am very fortunate and count my blessings every day.
My cancer story started in April 2009.
Signs and Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are common to other, less serious illnesses. However, if you're troubled by any of the following symptoms, see your doctor:
It is common for people with AML to feel a loss of well-being because of the underproduction of normal bone marrow cells.
Symptoms of a low red blood cell count (called “anemia”) include:
CMML Subtypes
Most people diagnosed with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) have one of three different subtypes of CMML. Doctors classify CMML subtypes by the percentage of blast cells ("blasts") in the blood and bone marrow.
Doctors use a classification system developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2001 and updated in 2016. The three subtypes are:
Chemotherapy and Drug Therapy
If you're being treated for chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), your first line of defense may be drug therapy. You'll be given potent drugs that must be toxic enough to damage or kill the cancer cells. At the same time, these drugs take aim at normal cells and cause side effects. Yet, not everyone experiences side effects and people react differently.
Drugs Used for CMMLThere is no one standard treatment for CMML. There are three FDA approved treatments for patients, which include:
Watch and Wait
A small percentage of people can manage their hairy cell leukemia with their doctors using a watch-and-wait approach. By using the watch-and-wait method, your doctor can monitor your condition with regular physical exams and lab tests. You won't take any drugs or undergo any treatment during this period.
You may feel uncomfortable because you know that you have cancer, yet you're not being treated right away. Rest assured that the watch-and-wait approach lets you avoid therapy's side effects until you need treatment.
Treatment Outcomes
Treatment results and outcomes vary among patients. The advent of the chemotherapy drug cladribine (Leustatin®) has resulted in approximately an 85 percent rate of complete remission (no evidence of the disease) and approximately 10 percent rate of partial response.
Many patients remain disease free for years or decades after treatment with cladribine or pentostatin (Nipent®) and have a normal life expectancy.
Asistencia Financiera Local
Asistencia financiera está disponible para los pacientes afectados por los huracánes Helene y Milton Haga click aqui El programa de asistencia financiera local (LFA, por sus siglas en inglés) de la Sociedad de Lucha contra la Leucemia y el Linfoma (LLS, por sus siglas en inglés) está disponible para pacientes con cáncer de la sangre que tengan una necesidad económica significativa.
Alayna
September 8, 2021: I didn’t know it at the time, but the mass I found in my neck the night before I started my senior year of high school would forever change my life.
Graham
I am joining former England and Crystal Palace footballer and leukemia survivor, Geoff Thomas, and 23 other teammates to cycle the full Tour de France route one week ahead of the professionals to raise funds for the UK charity Cure Leukaemia. It's three huge goals — riding the Tour de France, raising $40,000 myself, and the team’s goal of $1 million. But with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) help, I know I can achieve it.
Casey
It was in May, 2014 that 24-year-old Casey Moore began experiencing her first symptoms of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). For a week straight, Casey had been vomiting every day and was losing a significant amount of weight. This was unusual, as prior to her symptoms, she considered herself a happy, healthy woman focused on her relationship and career. At the time, she was living with her boyfriend and working full time in a chiropractic office -- with no apparent signs of an illness.
Ethar
Refugee Family Gives Back to LLS after Daughter Survives Leukemia
Sixteen-year-old Ethar and her family moved to the United States from Iraq in 2015. Just one year later, she was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
“It all started when my lymph nodes began to swell and the pain became very intense,” said Ethar. “It was at this point, that I went to the emergency room with my father so we could try to make sense of what was happening to me.”
Charlene
Cancer. That is a word that is scary. So many of us have friends, family and co-workers that are impacted by some type of cancer, but you never think it will be you. The word conjures up fear. Fear of treatment, fear of death and fear of what will be expected of you to deal with and hopefully survive.
Sasha
When five-year-old Sasha had her birthday in June, there was more to celebrate this year — she had just gotten her port removed and was officially done with blood cancer treatment.
Sasha was just 2 years old when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in October 2017. She began intense treatment right away, which continued until right before her fifth birthday. Sasha spent countless days at the hospital fighting for her life and enduring the brutal side effects that came with treatment, but she never lost her charming personality and bright smile.
Deanna
Within 24 hours of going to the local emergency room in New York, I found myself being admitted to the Dana Farber/Brigham Women's Cancer Center in Boston. It was August of 2013 and I was exhausted beyond anything my four kids could inflict upon me and shocked to find out it wasn't anemia, I had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
Makenzie
My daughter Makenzie was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in January 2013, when she was just four years old. She had no signs or symptoms of leukemia. One day, Makenzie had a sore throat and we made an appointment with her pediatrician. Turns out she did have strep throat, but an exam also revealed her spleen was very enlarged. At that point, her pediatrician did bloodwork and learned that Makenzie's white cell count was through the roof. We were sent to Texas Children’s Hospital where later that evening she was diagnosed with CML.
Cynthia
Cynthia was on a family vacation in 2015 when she began experiencing back pain so severe that she had to be in a wheelchair for the rest of the trip. When she returned home, Cynthia went to see her doctor who referred her to an oncologist. After several tests, Cynthia was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. She was devastated. Chemotherapy and radiation soon followed, along with horrible side effects, sleepless nights and countless blood transfusions. But Cynthia was not going to let cancer defeat her.