As you can see, she's the beauty in the grey sweatshirt, mi amor. My daughter Erica survived leukemia, she was diagnosed when she was only two years old.
I'm the blessed momma that gets to celebrate this amazing woman of courage, who is now 28 years old!
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.
It's not easy being bald, a bald physician, and a bald wife. This is my third dance with Hodgkin's Lymphoma (HL). I first met HL in college, as many young girls meet their first pivotal relationship. Sadly for me, I attended an all woman's college, so my pivotal 'boyfriend' came in the form of a first cancer diagnosis.
In August 2014, at age 48, I was literally in the best shape of my life. I was an avid cyclist, averaging more than 150 miles per week, leading groups of riders for my cycling club, and completing multiple 100-mile century rides in a single season. Over the course of just a few days, while cycling, I noticed a sudden setback in my performance.
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.
I lost my mom to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in 2003. Her battle was short, just three months, which left me in shock and feeling very angry. My mom had always instilled in me the value of working hard to accomplish goals and I knew she wouldn’t want me wasting energy being angry.
I was diagnosed with CML on May 25, 2010. Up until December 16, 2013 my disease was managed by oral chemo, then unexpectedly, I went into a blast crisis and progressed to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
I was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in March 2010 at the age of 48. The cancer advanced rapidly and I was treated with a fludarabine/cyclophosphamide/rituximab (FCR) regimen at MD Anderson in Houston and locally in my hometown of Raleigh, NC between January and July of 2011. The treatment achieved a partial remission.
My dad, Larry Vogl, was diagnosed with leukemia out of the blue in November 2014. In the picture, he is with my three boys and my nephew (his four grandsons). They are the reason for the fight!
I am also the oldest of six kids, and my dad has always done and will always do anything for us - putting his kids first.
I got started with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) when our good friend, Tim Mauro, ran for Man of the Year and my husband, Larry, was his “campaign manager.” Tim’s father-in law, Bob, was battling non Hodgkin lymphoma.