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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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”).
Maureen
My warrior daughter with mixed phenotype acute leukemia diagnosed on April 5, 2019 and my hero son, her BMT donor!
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:
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
Imatinib mesylate
Generic name Imatinib mesylate Pronunciation i-MAT-i-nib MES-i-late Brand name(s), other common name(s) Gleevec® Drug type Tyrosine kinase inhibitor How the drug is given By mouth Indications and UsageImatinib mesylate is FDA approved to treat
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.
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.
Robyn
In October 2017, my wife Robyn Oshita passed away after a valiant two-and-a-half month battle against acute myeloid leukemia (AML). She was a loving wife, mother, and friend to everyone she met.
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.