Inspirational Stories

I walked into my primary caregiver’s office for a routine physical and three weeks later was in the hospital getting my first chemo dose. Those three weeks were the longest roller coaster ride of my life. I was 51 years old at the time, the sole caregiver for my family, and my daughter was only 16. Two and a half years later, I have been undetectable for one and a half years. During treatment, I failed four different tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), worked full time, only missed one of my daughter’s sports activities, had water on my lungs, had both lungs partially collapse, had acute kidney failure four times, had my liver enzymes shoot up, etc. I never want to repeat what I've been through, so I will not try treatment for free anytime soon. I'm extremely open about my journey if you ever need to lean on me. I am currently back to walking every day, losing weight, and feeling better than ever. You will figure out who your warrior tribe is! Keep with them.