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Lila
It’s January 11th, 2017, well past midnight, probably around 3 am. I am on the side of a mountain in Africa, 1000 miles away from home, in pitch black out, -20º with the winds, and I can barely feel my fingers. All I can see is the headlamp spot of light shining on the trail.
I think to myself, “Well, Lila, maybe this was not your best idea!” I look up and call my teammate in front of me, my best friend Dawn, and say, “Dawn, I am sorry I talked you into this.” She just looks at me, gives a knowing smile, then turns back to the path in front of us!
Julia
Julia is an eleven-year-old volleyball player, and when she started to experience digestive issues that we couldn't equate to anything, we were afraid that her physical symptoms would keep her off the court for a prolonged period of time.
Teresa
It took two months for the doctors to take my illness seriously. I was suffering from hip and leg pain, but the doctors thought it was caused by the sports I was playing in high school. They would send me home with pain medication.
Simantinee
It started when I was in my second year of studying engineering with a small lump on my neck. Dad's suspicion got me to the procedure room the next morning for a biopsy. My father, Dr. Promothesh Roy (Dr. P Roy), a renowned E.N.T surgeon in the North East part of India, didn't feel it was ethical to do an incision on me (hindsight, I wish he did, he probably would have taken out the right sample at that time). Instead, he asked another colleague to do the biopsy. They didn't find anything at that time.
Clifford
The year 2012 started as one of the best years I could remember. After an arduous effort, I successfully passed step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) which allowed me passage into my third-year medical school clinical rotations. After a wonderful third-year experience, I transitioned to my fourth year and was cruising toward the finish line of my dream to become a physician. Not only that, but after completely overhauling my nutrition and exercise habits, I had lost 100 pounds and was enjoying a newfound freedom that is beyond words.
Chloe
At the age of 13, I became the youngest stem cell donor at Johns Hopkins Hospital. At 15, I am a Student Visionary of the Year in the 2024 Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) campaign. LLS has become an integral part of my life over the past two years. In the spring of 2022, the peaceful life of our family was shattered by my mom’s diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Learning that a stem cell transplant was the only cure, I volunteered to donate my bone marrow to her.
Treatment
It's important that your doctor is experienced in treating patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or has access to an AML specialist.
Types of AML TreatmentDoctors use several types of treatment for adults with AML, some at different stages. Click on the links below to read more about each type of treatment.
Stem Cell Transplantation
For some patients who are in remission and can tolerate intensive chemotherapy, the doctor may recommend stem cell transplantation during the consolidation phase of chemotherapy.
Supportive Care
Supportive care is given to improve the quality of life for patients with MF. The goal of supportive care is to prevent or treat the symptoms of MF.
AnemiaAnemia is observed in more than 50 percent of patients with MF at the time of diagnosis. Before considering treatment options, it is important for doctors to rule out and treat the most common causes of anemia such as bleeding, iron deficiency, vitamin B12 deficiency and folic acid deficiency.
Treatment
Getting a Second Opinion
Leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes are each different types of cancers. What's more, each disease has subtypes. This means that the signs of the disease, how it's diagnosed and treated and the expected outcomes vary. That's why it's essential to have the right diagnosis before you begin or continue with treatment.
Managing Sexual Side Effects
An important part of managing side effects that impact your sexual health is to determine what factors may be causing or contributing to the changes you are experiencing, so that you can address them. Sexual side effects during cancer treatment can include:
Diagnosis
An accurate diagnosis of the type of leukemia is important. The exact diagnosis helps the doctor to
- Estimate how the disease will progress
- Determine the appropriate treatment
After your doctor or clinician takes your blood, he or she sends it to a lab for a complete blood count (CBC), which shows the number of red cells, white cells and platelets in your blood.
Imaging Tests
Imaging or radiology tests pass different forms of energy (x-rays, sound waves, radioactive particles or magnetic fields) through your body, creating pictures of the chest, abdomen, head, neck and other parts of the body.
Gerardo (Jerry)
I came into this world with a 65,000-mile warranty. During all my life, maybe I had a cold once in a while, some minor stuff, a bit of bursitis, but nothing that you would consider life-threatening at all. One day during a routine exam, I had blood work done. My PCP told me she didn't like my white blood cell count, and it was best to have a specialist look at it. She referred me to an oncologist. I didn’t think of it much, and since I was feeling fine, I thought it must be nothing of consequence.
Amanda
"He was selfless, unbelievably selfless," said Amanda about her father, Andrew. "He did everything for everybody. He worried enough for our family plus more. And never showed it. He worked extremely hard to provide us with everything we could possibly need."
Brianna
"He was the king of positivity" is what Dr. McCarthy at Roswell Park said to me the day after my Dad passed away from complications of GVHD or graft-versus-host disease. My Dad was a leader, someone who was always willing to help others, and always had a smile on his face. Not only was I his co-caregiver throughout his cancer journey, but he was also my caregiver during mine.
Sofia
Sofia’s story starts in November 2022. Actually, it starts on March 17, 2019, when she was born. She has been my fierce, independent, strong-willed little girl from the get-go. Once she started walking, she was an unstoppable force. Contrary to her cautious, older brother, Sofia seemed fearless. She loved to climb to the top of the playground structure meant for kids twice her age. She loved gymnastics and took after Mommy with her love of the bars, anything she could hang or climb on.
Stephanie
My journey with blood cancer began long before my diagnosis. In 2006, my world was shattered when my mom, just 52 years old, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). She was quickly isolated in a specialized hospital, enduring grueling rounds of chemotherapy. I was about to start nursing school and desperately tried to educate myself on her illness, knowing deep down that the prognosis was grim. They mentioned a bone marrow transplant, but she never made it that far. A fungal pneumonia took her from us in December 2006.
Allie
When I was in fourth grade in 2015, my older brother Nate (a freshman in high school at the time) was rushed by ambulance to the U of M Masonic Children’s Hospital. His spleen was holding 10 times the normal amount of red blood cells. This led to the discovery of his cancer. He was later diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). He missed out on the first month of high school and hockey season, but he was able to take medicines at home so that he could eventually attend the rest of the school year.
Tristan
I live in Colorado but grew up in Massachusetts and am an elite rock climber. I've traveled worldwide to climb and was the 2015 collegiate national champion. In April 2022, I was bouldering by myself and hit my shoulder on a rock behind me. Falls happen as frequently as a baseball player may swing a bat while climbing. This fall was nothing out of the ordinary except my shoulder was bruised far worse than I would expect from how hard I hit it, growing to the size of my hand by the next day. I remember looking at it initially and thinking, "Geez, I hope that's not leukemia."
Treatment
On average, individuals with essential thrombocythemia (ET) have a normal life expectancy if they are properly monitored and treated. It's important that your doctor is experienced in treating myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) or works in consultation with a hematologist oncologist who has experience treating MPN patients.
Choosing a Blood Cancer Specialist
Hematologists specialize in internal medicine with a subspecialty in hematology, the study of diseases of the blood. A “hematologist-oncologist” is a doctor who specializes in treating people with blood cancers. Pediatric hematologist-oncologists treat infants, children, and adolescents with blood cancers. Blood cancers are uncommon diseases, so it can be to your advantage to be treated by a doctor specially trained to focus on treating patients with blood cancers.
Children and End of Life
Children facing end-of-life have specific needs and concerns to consider. It's important to approach them in a spirit of honesty. However, honesty doesn't mean overwhelming them with information and details that can be frightening. Honesty means honesty of feeling. Information needs to be screened and made appropriate for their needs.