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Flu Shots and Immunizations

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends seasonal influenza (flu) shots for cancer patients and survivors and anyone who has contact with a cancer patient. Unless contraindicated by your oncologist, LLS encourages blood cancer patients and survivors to get their flu shot every year.

Jenna

Childhood ALL

Because of new and better therapies, cancer survival rates for children have improved dramatically during the last several decades. Scientists continue to search for the causes of childhood leukemia so they can develop better treatments with less toxic side effects.

Vaccine Therapy

Vaccines designed to treat cancer don't prevent the disease in the same way that conventional vaccine therapy prevents conditions such as measles or polio. The therapeutic cancer vaccines are designed to treat an already-present cancer and reduce its potential to grow.

Researchers are working on vaccines that could prevent cancer from recurring. Currently, there are no licensed blood cancer vaccines. Vaccines for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma are still in development and available only in clinical trials.

Trisha

On November 15, 2019 at 29 years old, my world changed forever. I was diagnosed with Plasma Cell Leukemia. It is basically a hybrid of Multiple Myeloma and statistically only shows in men over 60. I wanted to be special but not like this! At my 6 week postpartum appointment with my second babe, my stomach had not been shrinking like it should but I assumed it was because it was my second baby or the diastasis recti. My OB did a ultrasound and saw a lot of ascites and that my liver was massive so she instructed I go to the ER as that was not normal.

Diagnosis

While certain signs and symptoms may indicate that a person has MF, a series of tests are needed to confirm the diagnosis. It is important to have an accurate diagnosis, as it helps the doctor to:

• Estimate how the disease will progress
• Determine the appropriate treatment

Some of these tests may be repeated both during and after treatment to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment.

Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation

In autologous stem cell transplantation, the procedure uses the patient’s own stem cells for the transplant. The stem cells are collected from the patient in advance and are frozen. After the patient undergoes high doses of chemotherapy, either with or without radiation therapy, the stem cells are then returned to the body. This type of transplant is often used to treat blood cancers such as Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma.  

Erica

Erica was diagnosed with potentially fatal Stage 4 Hodgkin Lymphoma on March 28, 2013. Her journey to survive her battle with cancer was very trying but after overcoming her obstacles, Erica is very passionate about inspiring people to have the d’zire to survive any challenges that they may face in their lives. Erica’s fight to survive lymphoma had its highs and its lows, however, she didn’t give up even when at times her battle seemed like it wasn’t getting any easier.

Understanding Different Types of Treatments

Treatment options vary for the different types of blood cancer. Your choices depend on your specific diagnosis, age, cytogenetic analysis (an examination of the chromosomes in your marrow, blood and lymph node cells), overall health and other factors.

Your treatment plan might include:

Drug Therapies

In the past decade alone, new drugs and new uses for existing drugs have greatly improved rates of cure or remission for patients of all ages. Newer "targeted therapies" and "risk-adapted therapies" have resulted in higher overall response rates and decreased side effects. More than 50 drugs of different types are now being used singularly or in combination to treat blood cancers.

Blood cancer treatment often includes one or a combination of:

Benedict

I was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) in June 2023. This was after months of testing, worrying, praying, and worrying some more. Honestly, the testing period was so stressful that it was almost a relief to know exactly what was going on when I was diagnosed. This is because while I was testing, I was taking official visits to prospective universities every weekend. I am a football player, and at the time, I was trying to decide which scholarship offer I was going to accept ― which university I was going to pin my hopes and dreams on. It was a stressful time.

Emily

I was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) when I was 28 weeks pregnant. I came into the ER with a high fever from the flu, and one routine CBC test later, had me rushed for more tests and a bone marrow biopsy to confirm leukemia.

I was transferred from an already very large and experienced hospital to another due to being pregnant. Thankfully a doctor wanted to take my case . . . two hours away.

Myelodysplastic Syndromes

• Is a diagnosis of cancer
• Is a group of diseases that affect the blood and marrow, with varying degrees of severity, treatment needs and life expectancy
• May be primary or treatment-related. Primary MDS has no obvious cause. Treatment-related MDS has an obvious cause.

Click here to access MDS statistics.

Side Effects

Cancer treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma can produce side effects. The goal of treatment is to kill the cancer cells, but cancer treatments can damage healthy cells too which causes side effects.

Patients react to treatments in different ways. Some patients may have very mild side effects.  For other patients, side effects can be more severe, sometimes requiring hospitalization. For most patients, treatment side effects are temporary and go away once therapy ends.

Gal

My name is Gal, and I am 21. In 2011, I moved to California from Israel. Within a few months, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). I was only eight. I was dismissed by doctors for four weeks because I was too young even though I showed clear signs of blood cancer. My bones hurt a lot. I started to get a lot of big bruises, and I had an insanely high fever. I was in treatment for two years and seven months. I survived in 2013 as I entered my teen years. When I was sick, I would go to a camp called Camp Simcha. It is a camp for cancer patients in upstate New York.

Coy

My son, Coy, was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) on May 5, 2023. He was a junior at the United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) and had just won national runner-up in the NCAA Division III national wrestling tournament in March. He was a 4.0 student and had just been selected as Regimental Commander for the fall of his senior year. He returned home to secure and begin treatment. It was a challenge getting him into treatment, however, with great persistence, he was able to secure treatment with Dr. Allison Rosenthal at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona.

Austin

In May 2011, when Kimberly Schuetz was starting to plan her son Austin’s third birthday, he was diagnosed with a high-risk form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Austin was immediately placed on a chemotherapy regimen. However, when a routine blood test revealed that he relapsed in October 2012, their only option was a bone marrow transplant to save his life. After that transplant, his cancer came back for the third time in May 2013.

Angela

I was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in April 2009. I was so devastated. The first thing that got me through was a friend who had just won his battle with leukemia. I hadn't seen him in about a year, but he popped up all of a sudden that day and gave me hope.

A couple of months later, the oncologist and I agreed I would go into a wait and see period. He said it would likely be 6-10 years before I needed any treatment. I made it almost 6 years. I began treatment in March 2015.

Brian

Brian Shaw (a.k.a. “Little Man”) is an energetic, happy, intelligent and compassionate six-year-old boy. For nearly a year, starting when he was four, several of those characteristics seemed submerged beneath the side effects of daily chemotherapy that followed his diagnosis with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Though his treatments continue (3-1/2 years in total), the side effects have alleviated somewhat and Brian is getting back to his normal self, attending school, etc.

Brice

I discovered a small painful lump under my armpit area so I went to the doctor and I was given antibiotics for an infected lymph node. A few months later, I noticed the lump had grown larger so I scheduled another doctor appointment.

My doctor ordered blood tests and an ultrasound which was followed up with a biopsy. I was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) on October 24, 2016. ALCL is a rare type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Facts and Statistics Overview

Leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are types of cancer that can affect the bone marrow, the blood cells, the lymph nodes, and other parts of the lymphatic system.

Click on the links below to view statistics about each disease:

Side Effects

Both cancer therapy and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) can produce side effects. For most patients, side effects are temporary and subside once the body adjusts to therapy or when therapy is completed. For other patients, side effects can be more severe, sometimes requiring hospitalization. The side effects of chemotherapy may vary, depending on the drugs used and the overall health of the patient. 

Before you undergo treatment, talk with your doctor about potential side effects. Medication and other therapies can prevent or manage many side effects.

Logan

July 3, 2021, was the day that my life changed forever. I had been dealing with odd symptoms for months, and after multiple visits with dismissive practitioners, I finally had the ear of a doctor who believed me. A tumor located in my mediastinum was discovered via a CT scan. This news was devastating. I was due to be married in one month and how could someone who is just beginning her life possibly have something like this happen?

Myra

At age 2, Myra began having fevers and joint pain. Her parents took her to their pediatrician where she had bloodwork done. The results came back normal except it showed she was a little anemic.

“Myra never had any bruising or any issues other than the recurring fever,” according to her father.

Bryana

Hello everyone! My name is Bryana and in September 2022, at 23 years old, I was rushed to the hospital unable to breathe. I recently went on a trip to Las Vegas and had gotten sick while there, but never expected what was coming for me next. I was initially diagnosed with pneumonia but when I had a CAT scan done, the radiologist noticed an abnormal 5cm mass in my chest pushing on my bronchial tubes. My oxygen levels were low and my CBC came back abnormal, I had a severely low amount of WBC which brought up suspicion.