Search Results

Bishoy

Born in Egypt, at the age of three, me and my family immigrated to the U.S. when I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). I grew up in Long Island, New York, where I received treatment for 10 years. On my 13th birthday, I underwent brain surgery and remains cancer-free.

Alice

I was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). As soon as you learn that you have a form of cancer in your body, read a lot about it. Learn as much as you can about your cancer and how to talk to your doctor. It's up to you; it’s a mind situation. Don’t say, “Woe is me.” Say, “What should I do to take care of myself and enjoy life?” You are in charge, no one else can do it for you.

Jim

My brother Jim was an amazing man. He was a person for whom family was everything. He ran a plumbing business with his brothers and took pride in its success, but he was so much more than his work. We called him “The Renaissance Plumber” because he was so knowledgeable on so many topics ― history, literature, music, politics, sports. He was also a wonderful cook and a genial host. He lived life to the fullest. His leukemia diagnosis was a terrible blow, coming within months of the tragic death of our younger brother.

Alexis

CANCER, that one word that sits like a lump in the back of your throat making you unable to swallow...

I was in sixth grade when my hero, my dad, was diagnosed with hairy cell leukemia.

Over the years, my dad has gone through his fair share of chemotherapy.  Usually after treatment, his cancer became dormant, and then resurfaced a few years later.  The dreadful "process" would repeat itself, getting a little harder each time as his body became resistant to the therapy.

Robert

In 1990, I was diagnosed with M3 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) - now known as acute promyelocytic cancer (APL) - when I was a twenty-year-old college student studying abroad in Northern England.

I had ignored obvious symptoms for about a week leading up to my diagnosis, and it took another full week just to coordinate my departure from the UK to the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, not far from where I grew up. A host of complications followed during my first round of induction chemotherapy including massive amounts of internal bleeding.

Ashley

I grew up hearing stories about when my uncle Mark was diagnosed with leukemia.  The heartache, the stress on the family, the fear and luckily for all of us – his remission.  His CURE.

Joe

After being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in March of 2011 when I was only 10 years old, my entire life changed and was put on hold. I went through months of treatments to slow down the cancer, looked for the best possible hospitals in my area, and was able to get a bone marrow transplant in August 2011 from my brother who was a matched donor. I wasn't even close to stopping there. Once I was feeling better, I could do home instruction school from my house so I wouldn't fall behind, and some of my friends were allowed to visit me at home.

Winter

John

I first got involved with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) shortly after the passing of my boyfriend, John, in 2020. John "Poochy" fought a very long and hard battle against leukemia that came to an end in August 2020.  I was absolutely devastated and lost in a world without my love.

About two weeks later, a friend posted something about an event called Light The Night (LTN) for LLS, so I checked it out and immediately signed up a team of John and my friends for my local LTN event. We raised over $1,000 in less than 24 hours!

Jonathan

Jon was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) unexpectedly on November 4, 2023, and has been receiving inpatient treatment at Sharp Memorial Hospital in his new hometown of San Diego ever since. The care is excellent but extremely expensive. 

Connor

In 2020, I was asked to join The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Student Visionaries of the Year (SVOY) by my friend, Camryn, who is now leukemia-free. Unsure of what LLS was or what I was getting myself into, I hesitated but agreed. Two years later, after my second grand finale event for SVOY Toledo, I was in love. I enjoyed the creativity of coming up with events, I loved the competition, and I loved the people and stories I heard along the way. After graduating high school, I knew that I couldn't stop.

Justin

My husband, Justin, was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in June 2021. At the time, he was a healthy, energetic, 33-year-old dad of three. He just completed all treatment in January 2024. We received some funds from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) as well as information and inspiration. Throughout treatment, my husband fought so hard and had very difficult moments. He went into septic shock from a blood infection, had an ICU stay, and had to get both his hips replaced because of an infection that led to bone on bone. He couldn’t walk for months.

Kate

When I went for my annual physical in 2013, my doctor called me to tell me that my bloodwork looked strange. He asked me to get it tested again to be sure of the result. I did not have any symptoms at all. Within a week, I was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), something I'd never heard of. I had no idea what this would mean. It took me a while to find the right oncology team, but once I did, they were amazing. After lots of tests (including a bone marrow biopsy), I was started on medication, at a low dose, because I'm a pretty small person.

Maureen

My warrior daughter with mixed phenotype acute leukemia diagnosed on April 5, 2019 and my hero son, her BMT donor!

Caree

I was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in 2021 last year at the age of 21 years old. Over the year everything happened so fast.

Samuel

On June 21, 2019, my sweet, goofy, little boy, Samuel, turned 3 years old, and we had a big celebration. We threw Samuel a beautiful birthday party surrounded by family and friends at a local farm. The kids played, fed the farm animals, went on pony and tractor rides, and ate pizza and cake. It was a day Samuel still remembers and talks about. He has always been so bright, even as a baby, saying words like “tickle” at 10 months old.

Treatment

It's important that your doctor is experienced in treating patients with hairy cell leukemia or works in consultation with a hairy cell leukemia specialist. This type of specialist is usually called a hematologist oncologist.

For many people with hairy cell leukemia, starting treatment helps them focus on moving ahead and looking forward to their disease's remission.

Several types of approaches and treatment are used for adults with hairy cell leukemia, some at different stages:

Courtney

My father passed away in October from leukemia, and I want to do something to help find a cure so nobody has to go through what my father did.

Mary

My daughter is now almost five years in remission after battling acute myeloid leukemia (AML) twice - once when she was four and again when she was six. 

Giavanna

Giavanna was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) shortly after her fifth birthday. After two years of treatment, she continues to do great and is now 10.

Clinical Trials

Taking part in a clinical trial may be a treatment choice for some hairy cell leukemia patients. Clinical trials are under way to develop treatments that increase the remission rate of hairy cell leukemia or cure the disease. Today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society continues to invest funds in hairy cell leukemia research.

Selina

My story starts when I was just eight months old. In March of 1994, it was discovered that I had a cheek tumor. Doctors removed the tumor, and I was treated with chemotherapy. I relapsed at two years old in 1995. I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Leukemic lesions had spread to my brain. I received intense chemotherapy and 14 days of cranial irradiation. I was very lucky that my little sister was born in June of 1995. Doctors had saved her umbilical cord (her stem cells). I underwent more chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant in October 1995.

Geoffrey

My wife was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in November 2014. She went through a three-year protocol of a steroid regimen followed by one year of oral chemotherapy. She was pronounced in remission after one segment of chemotherapy but went through the entire protocol. Living in Chicago at the time, she was treated at Northwestern under Dr. Diner, a specialist in her type of ALL.  Then in 2020, we moved to North Carolina and were referred to Dr. Kataryna Jamieson at UNC Hospital for what we thought would be a yearly or biannual checkup. In July of 2020, Dr.

Dean

I was losing the battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and lymphoma in August of 2013 when I ran across this quote from Albert Einstein, "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." I decided to adopt this as my standard to live by. It gave me new insight and a passion for living that fueled my will to live.

Quade

Quade “Q” Marks is a 14-year-old freshman at East High School in Denver, Colorado.  He loves to play lacrosse, ski, snowboard and aspires to be a trauma surgeon. He is also a blood cancer survivor.