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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:

Relapsed and Refractory

Some patients have residual leukemia cells in their bone marrow even after they receive intensive treatment. In these cases, the disease is referred to as being “refractory” (or “refractory ALL”).

Other patients achieve remission but later have decreased numbers of normal blood cells and a return of leukemia cells in their bone marrow. This is referred to as a “relapse” of the disease (or “relapsed ALL”). 

Signs and Symptoms

Signs and symptoms vary from patient to patient and depend on the type of CMML. Click here to learn more about subtypes of CMML. 

Those with a myelodysplastic subtype (MD-CMML) tend to present with low blood cell counts. Signs and symptoms may include:

Brianna

"He was the king of positivity" is what Dr. McCarthy at Roswell Park said to me the day after my Dad passed away from complications of GVHD or graft-versus-host disease. My Dad was a leader, someone who was always willing to help others, and always had a smile on his face. Not only was I his co-caregiver throughout his cancer journey, but he was also my caregiver during mine.

Reese

Before we knew the world of childhood leukemia, and long before bone marrow transplant was a part of our vocabulary, we had sweet little identical twin girls, named Reese and Quinn. The twins were born in Chicago on April 10, 2014. Reese and Quinn were healthy babies who grew into healthy toddlers and then their little sister Claire joined our world in 2016. These sisters are the best of friends and the greatest supporters of each other.

Pam

I was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) in December of 2020. I went through six treatments from January 2021 to June 2021. The treatments were a series of shots for seven days at the beginning of the month. In July 2021, I was approved for my stem cell transplant at The James Cancer Center, The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. I had my stem cell transplant on July 29. I handled the stem cell transplant very well and was declared in complete remission from the months of September to November 2021.

John

After six months of frequent hospital and doctor visits for unexplained fever, weakness, and changes in John's activity and personality, an ultimatum to his primary care pediatrician led to a blood draw. Finally, after so much unknown, we had an answer, B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This was May 24, 2022, exactly one month prior to John's 7th birthday. The news allowed us to understand, however, it also threw the entire family into chaos. We immediately endured 11 days of inpatient treatment and multiple procedures. John was strong but very scared and confused.

Anna

In 2016 I received one of the scariest calls. My 9-year-old niece had just been diagnosed with leukemia. I live on the opposite side of the country. I was by her side in under 12 hours where I spent the next month trading shifts with her mom as we watched her struggle through treatment. During her hospital stay, we learned of several children from our small community battling the same cancer. I began advocating for these kids and the situation grew bigger than we could have ever could have imagined. That story is for another time. I eventually had to come back home to Seattle.

Mendya

First, I must express appreciation to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) for providing educational resources, knowledge, and financial assistance to those of us affected by blood cancer. LLS spotlights blood cancer and gives a voice to so many like myself. Thank you. As a way to show my support to LLS and to raise awareness, I have raised $210 in September 2023, Blood Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM), via Facebook. This is just the beginning of my advocacy. 

Yvonne

I am 56 years old and a proud 16-year survivor of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The journey has been filled with struggles, instability, emotional ups and downs, coupled with chronic pain throughout the day and into the night. The things that have strengthened me the most are my faith in God, my family, dear friends, my church, and other survivors who gave me hope and extended themselves to me as advisers, also, prayer partners and sounding boards during moments of sheer frustration. I met the love of my life during my second year of chemo, something I thought could never happen!

Ashlyn

My name is Ashlyn, and I am a leukemia survivor. At the age of 17, during my senior year of high school, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). AML is a rare cancer that affects your bone marrow and blood. My life changed on March 21, 2023, when I got this news. How could this be possible? Why me? Will I survive? These were some of the first few questions that entered my mind. I went through five rounds of chemotherapy and nine grueling months of being inpatient in the hospital. I wasn't able to go on my senior class trip to Disney World or attend senior prom.

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.

Virginia

I have been living with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) since August 6, 1997. The way I see it, I’m alive today because of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). The pill I take each day that keeps my leukemia in remission exists today much because of research grants awarded to Brian Druker, M.D., PhD., of Oregon Health & Science University.

Chemotherapy

Because of acute lymphoblastic leukemia's (ALL's) rapid growth, most patients need to start chemotherapy soon after diagnosis.

Chemotherapy drugs kill fast-growing cells throughout the body including cancer cells and normal, healthy cells. The damage to normal, healthy cells can cause side effects. Yet, not everyone experiences side effects the same way. 

ALL treatment consists of:

Babara

On October 3, 2019, I was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) at the age of 58. I was asymptomatic, so I was in total denial that I had leukemia. I had just attended my 40th high school reunion, and I thought my health was great. After leaving the oncologist's office that day, I went home and discovered that I had blood in my urine, or was it post-menopausal bleeding? I was so confused and frustrated. I immediately made an appointment with my primary care physician to get a referral because I wasn't sure what kind of doctor I needed to see. Turns out, I also had cervical cancer.

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.

Dustin

December 3, 2016, was the date that I was supposed to get married to KT. It was a Saturday. We had that date set for over a year, but there was no wedding—we canceled it the Tuesday before. KT informed most of our guests with an explanatory text: “So, I have some unfortunate news. We’re going to have to call off the wedding this weekend. Dust got cold feet…and leukemia.”

Stem Cell Transplantation

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation has been used to treat and sometimes cure chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) patients. However, because of the high, sometimes life-threatening risks associated with stem cell transplantation, doctors rarely use it in elderly patients or patients in poor health.

Maureen

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

Daniel

I was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in March 2010 at the age of 48.  The cancer advanced rapidly and I was treated with a fludarabine/cyclophosphamide/rituximab (FCR) regimen at MD Anderson in Houston and locally in my hometown of Raleigh, NC between January and July of 2011.  The treatment achieved a partial remission. However, in September of the same year I was diagnosed with a large diffuse b-cell lymphoma tumor in my lung.

Bethany

I was 28, married for two years, and my husband and I had just celebrated our one year anniversary at my business, Gigi’s Cupcakes. But on March 30, 2012, that all changed. 

Latasha

After a family vacation with her four kids and husband of 20 years, Latasha couldn't eat or hold her head up. After being in bed for almost a month, she thought she had the flu when her doctor broke the news that she had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and anemia.

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.