Search Results
Jennifer
On New Year's Day 2012, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). I watched the ball drop in the ICU with a nurse assigned to me. They heard my mom being asked if I needed to be resuscitated, so they proceeded with that and then to hear her respond to do everything you can for her. The seriousness of that is very overwhelming.
Eric
I was diagnosed with children’s B-type acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with a T 411 transmutation. As an adult, it’s rare for me to have children’s leukemia, but it’s the transmutation that makes mine unique. The doctors here have only seen this type three times in 34 years, and I was their third. I had unique symptoms as well. I had numb chin syndrome (NCS) where my bottom chin was so numb that I couldn’t speak or barely eat. I was given a bone marrow transplant on December 31, 2020.
Geoffrey
It all started with a limp. Then we began to notice random bruises on his arms and legs. Ten days before his 5th birthday, he had a fever that just wouldn’t go away. We went to see our family doctor, and after doing bloodwork, they said we needed to get to Children’s Hospital immediately. He was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), and this began the start of a journey that we never imagined we would be on.
Lewis
Lew developed leukemia from being in a building at Ground Zero on 9/11. He returned there every day afterward for over a year, breathing in the carcinogenic ash which compromised his immune system. He is currently in the World Trade Center Health Program.
In 2012, he was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and was told he’d have a year to live. But as he likes to say, he is like a Timex watch that takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’.
As a result of two bone marrow transplants in 2014, he developed graft versus host disease (GVHD).
Danielle
In February 2015, my daughter Danielle was diagnosed with leukemia. She was 25 years old, and a professional dancer out on tour in Detroit when I got the call no mom ever wants to hear. She said, "Mom are you sitting down? The doctor says I have leukemia". Just typing this makes my heart sink.
She has been such a trooper three long years of treatments but i am here to say she is doing well. She met an angel while going through treatment and is getting married in May 2018! It has been the hardest three years of both of our lives but we now can look ahead.
Myrrah
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivor travels from India to receive LLS-funded treatment
When Myrrah was just six years old, she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Her family lived in India at the time, where she received a year of intense treatment. When her blood work showed no signs of cancer, her family celebrated with a vacation to Europe. Then, during a routine checkup they learned that Myrrah’s cancer had returned and the doctors said there was nothing more they could do.
Keith
When the doctor calls you and says, "I need to speak to you as soon as possible," you know the news can't be good. I was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of leukemia, bastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN). Most doctors have never even heard of it.
Lilian
My name is Lillian and I'm 43 years old I have a Alp leukemia. I went into the hospital on July23rd and didn't come out of it until August 2nd then I realize I was being transported and all I could remember was a yellow heart hanging and I was just out of it the whole time.
I'm still trying to grasp on the back that I have leukemia and then I'm going through all this chemo I'm trying to find help for my bone marrow transplant because I have no coverage. I've been very fortunate and lucky because many other states and countries they wouldn't have this when I was a teenager.
Tessa
Tessa surprised our family when she came rockin' an extra chromosome. She spent 11 days in the NICU and left with oxygen but seemed in good health otherwise. When Tessa turned 18 months old, she became very sick. She had multiple infections that wouldn't go away, became lethargic, and wasn't her cheerful self anymore. After a blood test, her pediatrician suspected leukemia. More tests confirmed Tessa had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). She went through chemotherapy for two and a half years and finished treatment in May 2020.
Sherri
I have donated to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) for many years. This year I wanted to do more in honor and loving memory of my dad, Frederick.
Kayleen
On March 8, 2012, our world changed forever.
I was at work when I got the call from my husband that I was to meet him and Kayleen at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis. He said they found markers for leukemia in her blood work after testing for mononucleosis. Our oncologist was optimistic saying it was still “highly curable.”
Anne
My story with leukemia began in July 2016 when I was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). It was four months and 13 days after my wedding to my husband Eddie, and one month to the day after our vow renewal ceremony. What we didn’t realize at the time was that my body had likely been fighting for months. I thought my exhaustion was from wedding planning and running my writing business.
Dominic
Our son Dominic was diagnosed with MLL-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia (AML) on July 14, 2020. The mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) gene rearrangement in AML is considered a high-risk feature, and treatment typically involves high-dose chemotherapy to induce remission followed by bone marrow transplantation. The MLL-rearrangement is also called the KMT2A-rearrangement or 11q23 rearrangement. Dominic had a translocation between chromosomes 6 and 11, t (6;11).
Edmund
U.S. veterans’ sacrifices can occur on the battlefield … or much later.
Houseboys sprayed Agent Orange on weeds around the Quonset huts of Edmund Montefusco and his fellow soldiers in Korea in the early 70s, but it was decades before Edmund’s rare, slow-growing hairy cell leukemia made itself known.
Lauren
At the age of 33, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). I immediately started undergoing treatment which initially consisted of intense induction chemotherapy followed by consolidation chemotherapy and then a haploidentical stem cell transplant. My 64-year-old father was my only donor option as I did not have any matches on the national registry. My two sisters were less than half matches, and my mother’s history of having had a stem cell transplant herself precluded her from donating.
Donna
I would first and foremost like to introduce you to a most special lady. My Nana.
Lolo
Lolo was a happy and active 10-year-old when she was diagnosed with pediatric acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) in December 2012. She spent the next six months at Children’s Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska, isolated from her classmates and critically ill.
Jaziel
Hello, my name is Jaziel, and I am a three-time leukemia survivor. My story began in 2008 when I was initially diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). I was treated for a few years and became cancer-free (remission) in 2011. During my first battle with cancer, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) helped me and my family immensely by assisting us with rent, gas, and sometimes simply sharing the stories of other survivors, encouraging me to keep fighting.
Cassie
Cassie Fetsch is a regular volunteer for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Minnesota chapter. When school is out, staff members can count on Cassie to be in the office folding letters, stuffing and labeling envelopes, counting Team In Training brochures, cleaning out drawers or putting together pizza boxes. Since Domino's sponsors LLS's Pennies for Patients program, they donate all the boxes to ship campaign supplies. This year, Cassie assembled boxes for more than 800 schools!
Joe
My son Joe was 5 years old when he was diagnosed with T-cell leukemia just three days after the birth of his brother Cole – Joe was admitted to the ICU, and on Sunday, the next day, they did a spinal tap and a bone marrow biopsy. At midnight that night, he started his chemotherapy treatments.
In the first 30 days, his bone marrow had cleared to zero, and he was technically designated as a “low risk rapid responder.” All things being equal, he has done a phenomenal job through this.
He is in long-term maintenance and he finished his treatment on December 13, 2014.
Nandini
Everything was picture perfect in my life. A beautiful family with two beautiful daughters and husband. And then, in March 2009, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
I had been recovering from aplastic anemia since 2002. However, AA progressed into AML. A transplant was the best cure available and a kind unrelated donor was found who gave a new lease to my life. After a painful bone marrow transplant recovery, I am now in remission. My older daughter just went to college and my younger daughter is in fourth grade.
Jennifer
My mother, Jennifer, was diagnosed with breast cancer completely unexpectedly in 2015 and beat it a year later. Soon after, she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We were in complete shock. She is single and lives on our Indian Reservation in Eastern Oregon with no cancer hospitals, so my sister and I completely dropped our careers and lives in other states to take care of her as we were scared and knew she needed support.