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What to Tell Your Child

Regardless of age, children are usually aware when their health causes their parents concern. Your child may experience a variety of emotions, such as anger, guilt, fear, anxiety and sadness, all in quick succession. Sometimes parents wish to shield their child from information about the illness and its treatment. Keep in mind that your child will use his or her imagination to fill in perceived gaps of information. Talk with your child about the illness and its treatment. Listen carefully to what your child is saying (or not saying) and then answer his or her questions.

Laila

Laila was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) three months after her second birthday. She is the only girl and her three older brothers are very protective of her. She is our little Warrior Princess, in August, 2015, she reached remission and has been an inspiration to all who meet her. She is truly amazing. Our lives have forever been changed.

Javier

Javier was diagnosed with pre b ALL leukemia in October 2017. He was in and out of the hospital for over a year and he has been through a lot.

Javier is so young and still goes for chemo every month and now we are having a pandemic of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and he is trying to stay safe and at home.

He brings light to everyone he sees. He is a very friendly and respectful young boy.

Lidia

I am still in treatment for leukemia, a diagnosis my mom was devastated to hear when I was just four years old.

My dream is to meet Roman Reigns and tell my story because his story makes me keep going.

I watch WWE and I even went to a WWE fight. I want to try to going to one next year!

I love seeing Roman and LLS fighting blood cancer!

Diagnosis

An accurate diagnosis of the type of leukemia is important. The exact diagnosis helps the doctor to

Estimate how the disease will progress
Determine the appropriate treatment

Blood Tests

After your doctor or clinician takes your blood, he or she sends it to a lab for a complete blood count (CBC), which shows the number of red cells, white cells and platelets in your blood.

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.

Treatment

It's important that your doctor is experienced in treating patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) or has access to a CML specialist. Doctors who specialize in treating patients with CML are called “hematologist-oncologists.”

Types of CML Treatment

Click the links below to read about types of treatment for CML.

Follow-Up Care

Click here for information about follow-up care, including what to expect, long-term and late effects of treatment, survivorship clinics, and other resources such as The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) treatment guidelines.

Follow-Up Care

Kristen

I am a mom of four, married for 22 years, and was recently diagnosed with a very rare leukemia/lymphoma. I am a licensed speech-language pathologist, health coach, and have my own podcast. I began treatment in January of this year and will follow treatment with a bone marrow transplant. I am an encourager, and my desire is to use this diagnosis to bring hope. I know this journey is not about me! It’s about bringing hope to the hopeless and love to the lonely.

Da’Ni

Thirteen-year-old Da’Ni was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in July 2018. She endured eight months of intense treatment before starting maintenance therapy. Da’Ni is currently six months in to maintenance and back in school. She’s an 8th grader and a straight A student. Da’Ni plans to go to medical school and become an oncologist to help children like herself one day.

Mary Kay

Hello, my name is Mary Kay Hettick. I've always thought I was in good health until, in October 2013 when I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). My life was never the same after that. I endured many days in the hospital doing chemotherapy and having a bone marrow transplant.

Today, I've been in remission for almost five years! If your fighting AML, know that your in good hands.

Ira

In August 2014, at age 48, I was literally in the best shape of my life. I was an avid cyclist, averaging more than 150 miles per week, leading groups of riders for my cycling club, and completing multiple 100-mile century rides in a single season. Over the course of just a few days, while cycling, I noticed a sudden setback in my performance. Virtually overnight I lost stamina, speed, and endurance. Roads or hills I had ridden countless times before instantly became unmanageable. Thinking I was battling the flu or a virus, I visited my doctor. Blood tests revealed an abnormality.

Yesenia

In January 2018, after months of seeking answers and enduring worsening symptoms, I was finally diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The road to this diagnosis wasn’t easy ― it took three hospital transfers, three bone marrow biopsies, and the loss of my mobility before doctors could pinpoint the cause of my pain. Finally, I was admitted to a hospital close to home where they began aggressive treatment and provided pain management to help with my constant discomfort. By then, I was bedridden and had lost significant muscle, leaving me physically and emotionally drained.

Gabe

When Gabriel ran a fever and wouldn’t settle down at 3:00 a.m. one night, I immediately called our pediatrician. Something just didn’t feel right. Our pediatrician sent us to a local emergency room to get Gabe checked out. Thankfully, nothing was obviously wrong, and the ER chalked it up to a viral illness. However, Gabe’s bloodwork came back a little strange. He had something called “blasts” in his blood, which is abnormal. The doctors told us it could just be because of the virus, and since the rest of his bloodwork looked great, they didn’t think it was leukemia.

Hannah

My name is Hannah Gallant. I am an 11 years old from Quispamsis, New Brunswick Canada. In August 2016, after several trips to the doctor and the hospital because I wasn’t feeling well, my parents brought me to the hospital for blood work. I wasn't worried, because I thought it was just growing pains. We got the results that same day, my parents found out it was a form of leukemia called acute lymphoblastic leukemia (AML). They didn’t tell me until the final diagnosis took place at the IWK. I was very worried, and even though I didn't know what leukemia was.

Heather

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night Walk serves as an inspiring, empowering and comforting event, made possible by those who share, remember, and advocate for the fight against cancer. Each year, we here at LLS are graced with countless stories that demonstrate and display the spirit of this event. Heather Lee’s story is one of them.

Kelly

In January 2020, I was a 21-year-old full-time pre-medical student diagnosed with Stage 2E Nodular Sclerosis Classical Hodgkin lymphoma, about three weeks after getting engaged to the love of my life and primary caregiver, Alex. We put our entire lives on hold to begin this battle, but we had a huge support network that cheered us on with the slogan, "Let's Get Excited." I was treated for my cancer at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, where Dr. Jessica Snider & Dr. Kimberly Creach successfully cured my cancer.

Sarah

I was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-cell ALL) in October 2020 at the age of 38. It was a shocking diagnosis. I started feeling bad in September with extreme fatigue and some body aches, nothing terribly alarming. I'm a busy wife and mom of two young kids (ages 2 and 8 at the time of diagnosis) with a full-time job and two new puppies. I figured I was just worn out from everything. I had routine bloodwork scheduled for my annual physical. When my primary care doctor received the results, he called and asked me to go to the emergency room.

Blond girl in purple dress holding younger girl by lemonade stand sign.

Judith

In 2016, my Mom/daughter's grandma, Baba (Judith W), was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). After her first round of chemo, she was discharged from a one-month hospital stay on my daughter's third birthday. Best birthday present ever. She continued fighting the disease with more chemo and ultimately received a stem cell transplant from an amazing donor. Amid the uncertainties of her recovery, we hosted our first lemonade stand fundraiser on Mother's Day weekend the following year in hopes of helping.

James

I have leukemia/lymphoma and have been fighting this illness for seven years. I became ill in 2011 but made somewhat of a recovery until 2015 when I got really sick (upper respiratory issues) that took the medical system in Las Vegas more than a year to diagnose as leukemia. By the time I was hospitalized the first time, my white cell count was over 38,000. It took three hospitalizations before my illness was diagnosed. By the time I was diagnosed with lymphoma, my lungs had severe, unrecoverable damage, leaving me on oxygen most of the time, even during sleep.

Penny Man (Jonathan)

My name is Jonathan, but I really like to be called "The Penny Man.” I have been collecting pennies for over 15 years and then donating them to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). I first started collecting in high school in 2006 when a classmate of mine passed away from leukemia. My teacher, Mrs. Jean Cassetta, started a schoolwide campaign in partnership with LLS in memory of our friend Andrew, and I never stopped saving pennies since.

Zachary

Two months after we were married, my husband was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in July 2021. I was 33 weeks pregnant with our first baby when he was admitted to St. Louis University Hospital for the next month of induction treatment. Prior to diagnosis, Zach had been experiencing fatigue and palpitations and would become winded just walking up our flight of stairs. We thought he was having residual effects from some prior illnesses that he was hospitalized for in April and May. We know now that those instances were the beginning of his immune system starting to fail.

Kayla

My journey started on November 26, 2022, just eight weeks after my wedding. I spent Thanksgiving with my family and could feel something just wasn't right. I had visited my primary care doctor a few days before to explain my symptoms of shortness of breath and my stomach feeling bloated. She stated I was young, and there was no need to worry, that it was probably just from having too much salt intake. After, being on indigestion medicine for a few days, my symptoms begin to worsen. I went to my local hospital emergency room due to my shortness of breath.