Search Results
Jack
Jack is a particularly big fan of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. His is an active Patient Advocate managing a local support group for patients and caregivers interested in his rare blood cancer, he participates in LLS' First Connection program, has helped with LLS' Team in Training and Light the Night recruiting efforts. He received LLS' appreciation award "For Outstanding Commitment and Support of Advocacy and Patient Quality of Life" in June 2104.
Matt
I’ve lived a mostly normal 26 years on this earth. A life filled with wonderful academics, Division 1 athletics (pole vault), financial internships, and fantastic sales roles at companies I really enjoyed.
However, my life changed drastically on February 28, 2023.
Early in the morning on February 28, at about 3:00 a.m., I was woken up by a call from an unknown number. I let it ring through . . . maybe it was spam? Then they called again.
Joyce
We have been involved with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) since Steve's diagnosis with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in May of 2002. Steve's CML continues to be successfully treated with a drug called Gleevec, which was funded in part by LLS. This year we celebrated his 15 years of remission from CML by taking a trip to Florida with family. Thank God for survivorship AND cancer research!
Sally
In January 2021, my new life journey was about to begin. After doctor visits, bloodwork, testing, and finally complete shock, the diagnosis of cancer was given to me and my family, large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). We were in disbelief but ready to fight. As my oncologist stated, “You have an aggressive form of cancer, we will treat you aggressively, and it is potentially curable.” Those last two words were what I needed to hear. Let the fight begin.
Jonathan
I had been feeling very tired and dealing with massive headaches for about a month. Friends and family started to notice my pale skin and that all I wanted to do was sleep, and I felt cold all the time. That’s not like me, and everybody knows that I don’t usually carry sweaters when it’s cold because I love the cold weather. But during this time, I felt very, very cold.
Christine
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.
Laura
It’s hard to even know where to begin. I was 63 years old, a happily working professional in health policy and advocacy. I know the power of an organization like The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS); a daughter, wife, mom, grandma, and dog mom.
I was traveling with my husband, and I had a side pain. I thought might be a gallstone.
Hudson
Hudson entered the world on March 31, 2017. This is the day my heart left my own chest and was beating outside of my body. My whole world was immediately consumed by this little, perfect bundle of cuteness. As far as cancer risk goes, he didn’t really have any. He had a healthy infancy and toddlerhood, barely needing a Band-Aid. This is the case for so many children. In November of 2018, Hudson became a big brother to Violet. I can remember being in the studio for Violet’s newborn photos when the photographer had Hudson lay beside Violet.
Jaimie Potvin
Finding cures for cancer is especially close to my heart. In 2011, my brother, Cory was diagnosed with large B-cell lymphoma. Our dad was already a two-time survivor of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, so we truly believed he would survive blood cancer too. When his treatment showed no signs of improvement, it was devastating. Cory died six years ago and I still miss him so much every single day.
Olivia
I'm officially nine months in remission and just celebrated my first birthday (27!) since finishing chemotherapy treatment. In January 2022, I was diagnosed with stage IVB Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) after taking almost nine months to officially be diagnosed. Unfortunately, delayed diagnoses are often the frustrating truth for many adolescent and young adult cancer patients. However, during those nine months, I learned invaluable lessons on how to advocate for myself and persevere until I had answers.
Christal
My brother was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in September 1996 and passed away in April 1997, his senior year of high school and less than a month after turning 18. As a young person watching my brother suffer through his cancer diagnosis and subsequent death, it took away pieces of me that I will never get back. Not only me but my parents, his friends, our church, and strangers alike. Throughout the years, I have felt exhausted in grief as I denied my feelings, only to be hit by it in full force in unexpected moments.
King
King has a rare combination of a blood cancer called leukemia (high risk) and G6PD which is an incurable, lifelong blood disorder. His treatment plan is 3 1/2 years of daily chemotherapy. He is up to 75 pills per month, and this does not include intravenous or spinal chemo.
Unfortunately, as he gets older, the amount of chemo and medication he has to take will increase. He is three years into treatment, and has experienced several severe complications throughout this time.
Jonathan
I’ll start from the beginning.
In 2012, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. I had surgery to remove the mixed germ cell tumor and then was on the road to recovery. My lymph nodes were larger than they should have been, so I opted to err on the side of caution and had a lymph node dissection to have them removed. That was an invasive surgery that kept me out of work and from doing any physical activity for over six months. Once I healed up, I went back to work as a full-time police officer in Worcester, MA.
Don
Like so many individuals diagnosed with blood cancer, I had zero thought that I might be ill, much less with a disease that could take my life.
I had signs and symptoms that something wasn’t quite right in my body, annoying things like shortness of breath, lightheadedness, and fatigue. However, nothing registered in my head until after my diagnosis.
It’s September 2005, and I am pretty much invincible, bulletproof! I could, in fact, leap tall buildings in a single bound! Yes, in my mind I was Superman!
Megan
I am a 12-year-old girl who likes to play soccer and basketball, and I am in 7th grade. I was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS-EB) with monosomy 7. It is a blood cancer similar to leukemia. It is extremely rare for pediatric patients to receive this diagnosis, between 1-4 children out of every million.
Erika
I am a 36-year-old cancer survivor. In February 2014, I found a suspect lump and had become unusually tired. I was a career-driven single mother of a very active 10-year-old boy, so when I say unusually tired it was time to call the doctor. Within days I was thrown into the crazy and often times confusing world of hospital appointments and insurance company battles for various procedures and surgical biopsies. We became pros at the waiting game.
Stefan
Not that long ago, leukemia was an invariably fatal disease. These cancers presented with such ferocity and aggression that in many cases patient decline was rapid, usually within weeks of initial diagnosis. This all changed in the 1940s when Dr. Sidney Farber pioneered the use of antimetabolite chemicals as a means of killing leukemia cells, the birth of the chemotherapy revolution.
Coloring App
The free coloring app allows children to express their creativity and also offers activities to help them learn about blood cancer and its treatment.
Thomas
I had bariatric surgery on May 11, 2022. At the time, I weighed just under 600 pounds, and I understood that there was a higher possibility for complications. My three-hour procedure turned into a six-hour procedure, and my overnight stay in the hospital turned into a week. During surgery, they discovered my spleen was significantly larger than normal, and in the days following my surgery, I kept losing blood. After two exploratory surgeries, four units of blood, and a trip to the ICU later, I was finally released from the hospital with no confirmed cause of bleeding.
Gary
In 1999 I had a lump on my neck, and after strong urging from my wife and my mother, I finally went to my family doctor. My white blood cell counts were really high, and antibiotics didn't help. Eventually, a biopsy indicated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
Christen
Originally from northern New York, Christen moved to Denver, Colorado, in 2015 after completing her Bachelor of Science of Nursing at Le Moyne College to pursue a career in cancer care. Through a close relationship with her grandparents, she saw how her grandma, a retired registered nurse, graciously cared for her grandpa while he lived with esophageal cancer for close to a decade. The unwavering love, dedication, and courage they shared inspired Christen to seek out a specialty that allowed her to provide compassionate, holistic care to those in need.
Christina
As a Greek Latina indie author, I found it empowering to share my fight with lymphoma through social media and with my current writing. Many have told me that it’s inspiring, and I hope that leads to more attention and support for those fighting blood cancers like lymphoma.
Allyson
In November 2016 I was tired. TIRED. I had a 20-month-old and a 4-year-old, had just come off the busiest month of the year for work, and I figured I was tired for no other reason. But then tired became not having the energy to take care of my 20-month-old. Tired became going to be my best friend's wedding and needing to lay down in between steps. Shower, lay down. Makeup, lay down. Hair, lay down. Get dressed, sit for a minute. Walking a long hallway seemed daunting. And then carrying my son from my car at a gas station to the restroom inside on a road trip was too much.
Denise
I am passionate about Team in Training (TNT) because I am a cancer survivor, diagnosed with ovarian germ cell cancer (27 years ago at age 31). I had surgery, several rounds of chemo, and was then CURED! I joined TNT the following spring to ride El Tour de Tucson, a 111-mile bike race in Arizona (November 1997).