Search Results
Jack
Jack is a particularly big fan of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. His is an active Patient Advocate managing a local support group for patients and caregivers interested in his rare blood cancer, he participates in LLS' First Connection program, has helped with LLS' Team in Training and Light the Night recruiting efforts. He received LLS' appreciation award "For Outstanding Commitment and Support of Advocacy and Patient Quality of Life" in June 2104.
Patty
On January 19, 2012, I lost the love of my life to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We were together for 21 years and this was not how our love story was supposed to end. Too young, too soon… still so much to do, to see, to experience – How do you go on? How do you continue life without the other half of you? How do you stop crying in the shower, before the water runs cold? How do you get dressed, put on a smile and face the world – alone? How do you believe again, when everything you believed in is gone?
Jordana
Jordana was busy being a mom, wife, and radio host when she began experiencing fatigue, hot flashes, and bruising in the fall of 2020.
“I've been feeling crappy for a few months, very fatigued. About two weeks ago I noticed some large bruising on my legs but didn't remember bumping myself,” Jordana wrote in her first journal entry on CaringBridge. “I went for some bloodwork. Tuesday night my doctor called and said I need to go to the ER as my platelets were low. They admitted me, did a bone marrow biopsy, and 12 hours later told me I had leukemia.”
Ryan
At 22 years old, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). My first hospitalization was a month long which was followed by four more hospital stays for my chemotherapy treatments. In between each of those hospitalizations were home nursing visits, blood transfusions, doctor’s appointments, and even more hospitalizations to treat potentially life-threatening infections. I lost a total of 40 pounds throughout those months. Despite the many struggles I encountered during those months, I was able to successfully complete my treatments.
Lisa
On February 3, 2020, my life changed forever. My husband and I welcomed our first child, a baby girl named Quinn. But, three weeks after she was born, I started to not feel the best.
On Friday, March 13, 2020, the day of the COVID-19 shutdown, my life changed forever again. After two weeks of having fevers and night sweats and being tested for everything but cancer, I went in for scans. Two hours after I had my scans, I got the call that nobody wanted to hear. I had cancer.
Sonia
I am a two-time cancer survivor, first diagnosed in 2004. Fortunately, I received treatment at Rush University Medical Center, a teaching hospital closely affiliated with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). During my initial treatment, I underwent CHOP chemotherapy alongside the groundbreaking drug Rituxan® discovered through LLS research. My doctor explained how Rituxan® would ensure my survival, sparking my curiosity, and leading to a meeting with a representative from LLS. The gratitude I felt during that encounter was overwhelming.
Kailash
On April 20, my 79-year-old father was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) after a routine blood test. A scientist, he explored all of his options thoroughly. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) was instrumental in providing us with accurate, up-to-date information about AML. He has chosen to prioritize his quality of life. Instead of chemo, he is spending his final chapter with friends, family, and favorite activities.
Ph-Positive ALL Therapy
Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs)In addition to chemotherapy combinations, children with Philadelphia chromosomepositive (Ph+) ALL and Philadelphia chromosome-like (Ph-like) ALL are also given a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) medication.
Tyrosine kinases are enzymes that are a part of many cell functions including cell signaling, growth and division. These enzymes may become too active in patients with an ALL subtype called Philadelphia chromosome-positive ALL (Ph+ ALL).
Signs and Symptoms
People who have chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) may not have any symptoms at first. Often, patients learn they have CML after a routine physical exam or a blood test. CML signs and symptoms tend to develop gradually. Those with symptoms often report experiencing:
Signs and Symptoms
Some patients initially have no symptoms of MDS, and abnormal results from routine blood tests may be the earliest signs of the disease. For patients with symptoms, it is common not to feel well because of the lack of normal, healthy blood cells.
Anemia is a decrease in the number of healthy red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body. Anemia may cause symptoms such as:
Nina
Back in March 2015, my then 26-year-old daughter was not feeling well. She had severe abdominal pain, overwhelming fatigue, night sweats, a low-grade fever, a headache, and appeared to be losing weight. At the time, my daughter was working as a speech language pathologist in a hospital in Maryland. She was misdiagnosed by an ER droctor and two months later, after her primary care doctor ordered an ultrasound, we found that she had innumerable tumors in her lungs and spleen. We saw an oncologist the next day who ordered more blood work and a PET scan, as well as a bon
Naomi
My story begins when I was 11 years old, and I remember it being the summer after my sixth-grade year. I had just made the volleyball team and was so excited about that and the upcoming school year. I don't know if you remember middle school, but it was a bit of an awkward time, so I was looking forward to getting older, becoming surer of myself, and making more friends. Unfortunately, at some point during the summer, I started to feel fatigued.
Signs and Symptoms
Signs and symptoms vary from patient to patient and depend on the type of CMML. Click here to learn more about subtypes of CMML.
Those with a myelodysplastic subtype (MD-CMML) tend to present with low blood cell counts. Signs and symptoms may include:
Treatment Outcomes
Parents of JMML patients are advised to discuss survival information with their child’s hematologist-oncologist. Keep in mind that outcome data can show how other children with JMML responded to treatment, but it cannot predict how any one child will respond.
Watch-and-Wait
Some people with MDS who do not have very low blood cell counts or other symptoms may not need to start treatment immediately. Some people can manage their MDS with their doctors for years or even decades using a watch-and-wait (observation) approach. By using the watch-and-wait method, your MDS specialist can monitor your condition with regular physical exams and blood tests. The watch-and-wait approach lets you avoid therapy's side effects until you need treatment. Treating MDS during this early stage has not proved helpful.
Volunteer
It all began in 2010 after my friend Cara and I ran the LA Marathon. We had already trained on our own for the 26.2 miles race. I thought, “Why not just keep running?” That’s when I found the nonprofit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and their fundraising program called Team In Training (TNT)! TNT was the only program you could volunteer with to get a secured race entry into the San Francisco Nike Women's Marathon. So, I registered for an informational meeting at the mall near my parents' house, listened to the staff and coaches, as well as a survivor, and I was hooked.
Hardee
In April 2020, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). My life was turned upside down after this diagnosis, and I was in extreme denial even months into my treatment. I was forced to go through six months of chemotherapy and two surgeries to treat it. Being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 20 in the midst of a pandemic taught me many things. One of the biggest things I learned is to never take anything for granted. One day I was a normal 20-year-old hanging out with my friends, and the next I was shaving off all my hair because of treatment.
Sudha
Sudha Bhatnagar moved from India to Massachusetts in 1979. Shortly after, she met her husband and moved to Pennsylvania. At the time, the company she worked for allowed her to work from home because they were based in Massachusetts.
april
In 1996, at the age of 16, I found a lump in my neck that quickly grew to an alarming size. After ruling out illnesses such as cat scratch fever and tuberculosis, the lump was biopsied at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, TN and I was diagnosed with stage 2A Hodgkin's Disease (now called Hodgkin lymphoma). I went through 6 months of chemotherapy, followed by 2 months of radiation.
Janie
I was first diagnosed with stage 4 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in December 2017. I got through Christmas very weak and started chemo the first week of January 2018. My son had given me a Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal that Christmas, so Winnie became my mascot and went with me to every chemo treatment for the entire six months. Everyone at my cancer center loved to hug Winnie. He is very soft! He was brave and strong, even when my doctor told us we needed to add two additional treatments to complete the dosage protocol.
Anna
I’m from Hungary. I’m 34 years old and just recently moved to Durango, Colorado, to marry my husband, Joe. For two years, we worked through a long-distance relationship during COVID and thought we would never face a tougher task in life than facing an uncertain future beset by travel restrictions, an eight-hour time difference, and thousands of miles. We wed in July, settled into our house we’d moved into in March, and I had just qualified for my work permit and landed a wonderful job as the Communications Specialist at a local non-profit.
Christine
Christine Attia knows first-hand how overwhelming and terrifying a blood cancer diagnosis can be. She lost her 27-year-old fiancé three years ago after a courageous six-month battle with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a blood cancer which has seen few improvements in treatments in more than 40 years.
Kristen
In the fall of 2012, Kristen Comer noticed her energy level wasn't as high as it had been, but she thought nothing of it. It wasn’t until the fall of 2013 when she had unidentifiable bruises on her body and no change in her energy levels, that her general practitioner drew labs to determine a diagnosis. After three panels of blood work, Kristen was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) on December 31, 2013.