Search Results

Silma

My mother never had an easy life, but she is courageous and strong. She has never let any pitfall keep her from moving forward in life. She is a hardworking, independent single mother who has loved me, supported me, and always managed to be there for me. She is a force to be reckoned with, and a beautiful person. She is everything she is today because of one very special human being, my grandmother.

Jeffrey

My name is Jeff Kurowski and I am 35 years old.  I have lived with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) for two years and Crohn's disease (CD) for 20 years.  I have had three feet of my intestines removed.  I now depend on daily bowel suppression medication, monthly B12 shots, biologic therapy for a quality of life, and a daily targeted chemotherapy pill to stay alive.

Kris

Every survivor has a story. Mine started out on my way home from work one sunny June afternoon in 1983. My mom came to pick me up and we were riding in the car. I still remember the feeling of freedom as the wind blew through my long brown hair. Spring was always a season of rebirth to me after the long New York winters. I closed my eyes and smiled, completely unprepared to hear the next words spoken to me. “What’s that on your neck, honey”? Those words came from my mother as she noticed the lump embedded in my collarbone.

Kent

When Noah was born in 2005, we were surprised when the doctor told us he had Down syndrome.  Soon after, we were informed about all of the things that Noah wouldn’t or couldn’t do in his lifetime.  We were also given a laundry list of medical problems that he could potentially have.  Two months after he was born, Noah went into heart failure and had open heart surgery to correct four holes in his heart.  This was a tough time but boy did we have more to come and didn’t know it.  He has since had multiple surgeries, tests, studies, etc.  We were told that Noa

Danielle

I am currently on the Board of Trustees for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Minnesota chapter. The reason why I decided to dedicate my time, talents and networks to this organization is because I am passionate about finding a cure for cancer. This passion runs so deep in me, it serves as a constant reminder of how fleeting life can be. And, that everyone deserves a lifetime.

Munira

I will never underestimate my parents' sacrifices to provide my siblings and me with the millions of opportunities we have due to their hard work. My parents were born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Both were born to families who instilled the traditional family value of grit in every walk of life. My parents both obtained a high school diploma with the intent of seeking higher education, but the obstacles of living in a developing country robbed them of the chance.

Kennetha

I found out about The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) through a peer at Brockport College where I attend the Healthcare Administration BSN program. My peer had many great things to say about LLS and was excited to be a volunteer intern. I'm grateful that I was given the opportunity to reach out to those who experience the life-changing event of having blood cancer and can provide them with the resources and support that LLS offers. I love volunteering for LLS because it helps me fulfill my passion for caring for others and making a difference in people's lives.

Kayli

My daughter Kayli is a remarkable 22-year-old, six-time cancer survivor of leukemia who is currently undergoing treatment for a relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that has been recurrent in her central nervous system (CNS) since she was 8 years old. We are hopeful that the upcoming bone marrow transplant will provide a much-needed, life-saving cure for Kayli.

I am an RN and a single mother of five daughters and one son. My only son, Kayli's brother, Markai, is a full match and will be her bone marrow donor. He just graduated high school in May.

Agnes

On January 23, 2023, my whole world flipped upside down. After just starting the last semester of my senior year of college, I went to the ER with chest pain. A few scans and a biopsy later, I received the news that I had stage IV primary mediastinal B-cell Lymphoma (PMBL). What I thought would be a semester of parties, celebrations, and memory-making with friends turned out to be a semester of hospital stays, doctor’s appointments, and no hair!

Laura

It’s hard to even know where to begin. I was 63 years old, a happily working professional in health policy and advocacy. I know the power of an organization like The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS); a daughter, wife, mom, grandma, and dog mom.

I was traveling with my husband, and I had a side pain. I thought might be a gallstone.

Morgyn

June 18th, 2021. A day that I would never expect to happen never in a million years. I was 17 years old living my life like any other teenage girl would. Let me rewind back a few months to February 14th, 2021, yes Valentine’s Day. I was so sick that morning and with COVID-19 still running at its highest I decided to test myself. The test came back positive. I was so sick, the sickest I had ever been and as my quarantine was coming to an end I still felt as if I was still so sick with COVID.

Liza

I’m from Ghana, and I am a stage 4 nodular sclerosis Hodgkin lymphoma (NSHL) survivor! I was diagnosed in October 2018 right after my undergraduate diploma. Before being diagnosed, I was misdiagnosed for almost a year as the symptoms started in 2017 when I was still in school. Unfortunately, some doctors missed it, and others also tried to disregard my symptoms. As a result of the misdiagnosis, the cancer advanced from the early stages to an advanced stage where my bone marrow was infiltrated.

Katharine

My mother, Nancy, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a FLT3 mutation in March 2022. Over the next year and a half, she went through multiple rounds and regimens of inpatient and outpatient chemotherapy. At every step along the way, every member of my mom's care team kept mentioning how the outlook for patients like my mom was so much better now than it had been even 10 years ago thanks to advances in medicine.

Riley

On October 17, 2023, my life took a turn I never saw coming. My doctor sat me down and told me, "You have leukemia." It felt like the ground had shifted beneath my feet. I was scared, couldn't believe it was happening, and had no idea what the future held.

Lorena

My journey began in early 2021 when I discovered some swelling in my left inguinal area. At the time, I did not think much of it but still was told by my primary to see a surgeon, which I did. I saw a surgeon who told me it was a swollen lymph node and that it would go away within a few months. After about six months, I still had the swelling, and it had started to bother me. I saw a second surgeon in mid-2022 who suggested I have it removed, so I did. I went for surgery in late August 2023, and on September 12, 2023, I was told that I had stage 2 non-Hodgkin follicular lymphoma (FL).

Courtney

In March 2022, I began experiencing unusual symptoms of fatigue, nausea, persistent infections, and bloody noses and gums, but I didn’t think much of it. Following a lucky-timed appointment with my primary care doctor and multiple blood tests, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Cancer isn’t something an otherwise “healthy” 27-year-old thinks will come out of a doctor’s mouth.

Dustin

December 3, 2016, was the date that I was supposed to get married to KT. It was a Saturday. We had that date set for over a year, but there was no wedding—we canceled it the Tuesday before. KT informed most of our guests with an explanatory text: “So, I have some unfortunate news. We’re going to have to call off the wedding this weekend. Dust got cold feet…and leukemia.”

Renata

The best thing and the worst thing to ever happen to me happened at the same time. On my birthday, I found out that I was pregnant. That explained (I thought) why I felt so run down and lethargic. My husband and I were over the moon as this was our first child. 

As weeks went by, what I thought was morning sickness hit me hard. I couldn’t keep food down. My doctor gave me meds; nothing helped. 

Nevaeh

Nevaeh was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML+MLLr)+CNS chloromas on February 2, 2022, at 12 months old. Nevaeh first showed symptoms of high fevers, no appetite, and little to no energy. After a trip to the ER, a few tests, and x-rays, I was told Nevaeh had COVID and pneumonia. She was discharged with instructions to go back if her symptoms worsened. The following morning, Nevaeh’s health was declining. I called 911, and she was rushed to the ER and admitted to the pediatric unit.

Al

I am a four-time cancer "survivor" (not totally comfortable with the term), just grateful to be alive. I was first diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1997. I had surgery to remove a testicle and radiation as a follow-up. 

Rashad

"Rashad!" As I looked around, I realized she was calling me.

What happened next was like a scene from Charlie Brown, as all I could hear were mumbled words. I began to reminisce about what I used to be ― a collegiate athlete in the best shape of my life.

This couldn't be my new reality; this couldn't be happening to me! What did I do to deserve this? Why is it happening to me? I'm sure you can relate to this reality if you are reading this.

Annette

I had been feeling unwell for quite a while. I would come home from work and go to bed right after dinner. I would sleep for hours and still be fatigued. When we had afternoon meetings, I would fall asleep. My husband and I kept thinking it was my very stressful job. I was on airplanes three times a week and would be traveling all over the country. I wasn’t eating or sleeping well. I finally decided to take early retirement. I still did not feel well even after being retired. I finally got to the point where I was so sick, I told my husband to take me to the emergency room.

Holly

In 2016, I joined The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Tennessee Chapter as a supportive member of Team Addie. I had friends who became team members the previous year, walking in Nashville’s Light The Night Walk (LTN), and they encouraged me to get involved in the cause with LLS and LTN. Nashville is a city that my friends and I have gained so much love for through the years. I must admit I was hesitant to join at first because blood cancer specifically hadn’t affected my life or the people in it.

Relapsed and Refractory

Some patients still have leukemia cells in their bone marrow after hairy cell leukemia treatment. This is called refractory leukemia. Some patients have a return of leukemia cells in the marrow and a decrease in normal blood cells after remission. This is called a relapse.

Drug therapy that can be used to treat relapsed or refractory HCL includes:

Side Effects

The main goal of treatment for myeloma is to get rid of myeloma cells. The term side effect is used to describe how treatment affects healthy cells. Patients react to treatments in different ways. Sometimes there are very mild side effects. Other side effects may be serious and last a long time.

Myeloma patients should talk with their doctors about side effects before they begin any type of treatment. There are drugs and other therapies can prevent or manage many side effects.