In 2013 I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and cardiac amyloidosis and that is when my journey began. I fought them two with chemotherapy which put it in remission, and as of today I am still in remission thank god.
In the fall of 2014, I was living my dream. I had just finished my freshman year at NYU, where I studying musical theater. I was living in the East Village, experiencing everything that New York has to offer. Even though I was a long way from my family in Miami, I absolutely loved it.
My story begins almost 24 years ago in 1996, when I was diagnosed with cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Back then, there was no cure for CLL except for a bone marrow transplant (BMT), but that procedure only had a survival rate of 50%, not very attractive odds. My prognosis was I had anywhere from six to 15 years without a BMT.
Cristian will be donating his bone marrow to his younger brother Cody at the end of this month. He will have to take shots to get his cells to multiply. His body will be sore and will take a tole. His muscles and bones will hurt.
In 2007, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. After a long and painful 2 year and 3 month treatment full of chemotherapy, a coma, IV's. etc., I finally finished treatment. Around 2008, I began working with LLS to share my story and since then, I have continued to share my story through different programs held by LLS.
December of 2017 was a difficult time for me. It is the month that is usually filled with happiness, excitement and Christmas cheer. For me, it was the month I found out that I had Hodgkin lymphoma. It’s crazy when you think about it – we see all of these facts and figures about people who are diagnosed with cancer and we never, really, truly believe it could happen to us.
When my husband, NFL linebacker Elijah, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2005, shortly after retiring from the Oakland Raiders, we were stunned. Neither of us had ever heard of it.
Here's a truly inspiring story about a lymphoma patient and his treating physician who discovered in the midst of treatments last year that they shared a bond as former national champion ballroom dancers – and how the special connection affected his care.
Ethan was just five years old when he was diagnosed with very high risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The following years involved countless hospital visits, chemotherapy, bone marrow aspirates, lumbar punctures, steroids, and blood product transfusions.
I was losing the battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and lymphoma in August of 2013 when I ran across this quote from Albert Einstein, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." I decided to adopt this as my standard to live by.