Inspirational Stories

My name is Sara, and I am an acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivor! I was diagnosed with ALL suddenly in November of 2023, at 31 years old. I was feeling off a few months before my diagnosis, but I thought I was overdoing it at the gym, not eating well enough, not stretching enough, and not drinking enough water.

Even my ribs were hurting to the point where drinking water was painful, but I thought I still did too much at the gym. It wasn't until I reached out to do my annual exam at my clinic that the day after I had my exam, my doctor told me to go to the emergency room ASAP because my hemoglobin levels were severely low, and I needed a blood transfusion ASAP. I went to the ER, assuming it would be a quick visit and I could continue working - but once I was admitted at my local hospital and the nurses were acting somber around me - I knew something was up. After a few days of testing, I had two doctors tell me that I had acute lymphoblastic leukemia. They also said that it was treatable and that the City of Hope Team at Duarte would be the best team to make sure I could beat this cancer! My family was devasted and depressed, but I was still feeling good and was on the mind of fighting this cancer, so I wasn't too scared of undergoing chemo and everything involved.

I started my chemo treatment the week before Thanksgiving and stayed for a month before I was discharged. I was so thankful to have my family/friends visit me 24/7. I also had my work let me continue to help them in any way I could - so I could distract myself from the treatment and not being at home.

With the weekly lumbar punctures, lack of sleep, and tests, I needed all the support and distractions I could get! I was only home for a week before I had to be hospitalized for another month due to getting pancreatitis from the chemo treatment, pneumonia, and steroid-induced diabetes. That month was the most painful part of my cancer journey, and when I felt the most scared with my treatment and leukemia. Even when I left after a month, my legs were very weak and I had to use a walker for a little bit before I could walk on my own, it took months to regain strength back in my legs.

Thankfully, in June of 2024, my doctor officially said that I was in remission and that I would have two years of maintenance treatment, which has been cut down to one year! I am hoping to be done with my maintenance treatment by April 2025 and can hopefully remove my port as well! I am extremely blessed by the cancer/leukemia communities for their support and the resources that they have provided, and I am so thankful for my family/friends who were there for me at my worst. I've always been a fighter, but now I'm also a leukemia survivor!