Search Results

Tim

On March 10, 2015 I reached another milestone and turned 60 years young. I have been blessed with good health and the ability to swim, bike, and run. For over a decade I have been involved with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) as a board member and participant in more than a dozen fundraising triathlons/marathons for Team In Training events all over the world. My efforts will continue until cures for blood-related cancers are realized.

Lincoln

In the fall of 2017, Lincoln was not feeling well and had typical cold virus symptoms. He also had a recurring fever and an unexplained rash. After two trips to the pediatrician, the doctor thought he had a persistent virus and then bronchitis. On our third visit, they thought he may have mono, so bloodwork was taken, and we were told to go to Children’s Hospital immediately. We were scared and had no idea what was wrong. Cancer was not even a thought.

Katie

I want to share my blood cancer journey. It all started back in October 2019 when I was at Gonzaga University. I started to experience the symptoms that I’m sure we’re all far too familiar with ― stomach pain, digestive problems, nausea, chest pain, and fatigue, all of which I was dealing with in addition to 20+ hours a week of tennis practice and a 15-credit class load.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

• Is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood
• Progresses rapidly without treatment
• Does not have a clear cause

Click here to access ALL statistics. 

Click here to access information about ALL in children and teens. 

Resources for Survivors

Use this Survivorship Workbook to collect all the important information you need throughout diagnosis, treatment, follow-up care and long-term management of a blood cancer.

Central Nervous System (CNS) Lymphoma

Central nervous system lymphoma is a rare non-Hodgkin lymphoma in which malignant (cancer) cells from lymph tissue form in the brain and/or spinal cord (primary CNS) or spread from other parts of the body to the brain and/or spinal cord (secondary CNS). Because the eye is so close to the brain, primary CNS lymphoma can also start in the eye (called ocular lymphoma). The cancer can also involve the spinal fluid that bathes the spinal cord and brain. This is called leptomeningeal lymphoma. Both primary and secondary CNS lymphomas are rare diseases.

Tom

Hello Friends — this is my leukemia journey, For those of you who don’t know me, my entire 38-year teaching career was spent with 9-12 year olds. I’ve always relished the authenticity and passion of this age group and that led me to a very satisfying and rewarding chapter in my life.

Cynthia

Cynthia was on a family vacation in 2015 when she began experiencing back pain so severe that she had to be in a wheelchair for the rest of the trip. When she returned home, Cynthia went to see her doctor who referred her to an oncologist. After several tests, Cynthia was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. She was devastated. Chemotherapy and radiation soon followed, along with horrible side effects, sleepless nights and countless blood transfusions. But Cynthia was not going to let cancer defeat her.

Whitney

I am delighted to be a new member of the Clinical Trial Support Center team at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS)! After eight years as a clinical nurse, charge nurse, and assistant nurse manager at various oncology hospitals across the country, I am honored to now work with blood cancer patients as a Spanish-speaking, CTSC nurse navigator.

Jania

In November 2018, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). It's a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow that progresses very rapidly. When I was initially diagnosed, I believed my life was over. As a seventeen-year-old high school student attending school from a homeless shelter, going to bed hungry most nights, I considered dropping out to help my mother with my younger sister and brother. I couldn't fathom the financial burdens that would follow with medical treatment. I felt like the more I attempted to correct things, the worse they became.

Ilse

Thirty years ago I was told I needed additional blood tests after a routine check-up. I was too busy to follow those instructions. Looking back, it probably was an excuse not to have to face the truth. My fatigue and many infections I had attributed to stress in my personal life. I convinced myself there was nothing to worry about.

Stephenie

Amy

My story begins on Christmas Eve 2008.  My daughter was a 8th grader and was singing her first solo during Christmas Eve mass.  I was sick!

Matthew "Scott"

On January 11th, 2019 at 9:35 p.m., exactly 11 days before my baby brother's 40th birthday cancer decided to come to the party uninvited. It would be the first time in my life that I would see my mother, the strongest person I know, collapse in utter disbelief. He had a cough he couldn't shake, his doctor sent him for some blood work at lunchtime, by dinnertime his platelets were 7,000 and his Dr. said he should go to the hospital for some tests, and by bedtime we were transporting him to The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.

Nicolas

My name is Nicolas and I am 14 years old. Before my diagnosis I was a completely healthy child, in fact I was rarely ever sick. I played baseball, had straight A’s, and recently had recently got a new puppy. This sense of normalcy came to a screeching halt on January 13, 2018. That’s the day I was admitted into the pediatric ICU and the day I first heard the words, “you have cancer.” My family and I were devastated.

Jonathan

Life is such a blessing. Sometimes we think that there’s no way out, we limit ourselves, or we simply think to give up. Truth is, like we say in my family, “Solo hay que estar vivo para ver cosa,” or “You only have to be alive to witness things.”

My parents are first-generation immigrants from the Dominican Republic. I am a cancer survivor.

Carol

I traveled with my friends Karen and Beth to Death Valley in February 2020 for a cycling trip where, despite Beth’s fitness and the amount of cycling we’d done, she became short of breath on the steep climbs. She would stop and catch her breath, then continue cycling. This wasn’t normal behavior, but Beth shrugged it off. “We all have good and bad days on the bicycle,” she said. On our last day of cycling, we were planning another hilly route. “You guys go ahead.

FDA Approves New Treatment Option for Patients with Multiple Myeloma at First or Subsequent Relapse

How to Find a Treatment Center

A number of resources are available to help you find a treatment center. Your primary care doctor may be able to provide a referral or you can use doctor and insurance referral services.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) supports a national network of cancer centers. Each center must meet specific scientific, organizational and administrative criteria. See a list of NCI-approved cancer centers.

The following organizations can also help:

Jamie

After he was diagnosed with blood cancer in 2013, Jamie was told by doctors that he’d never walk again, let alone ride a bike. Despite those predictions, he finished a 540-mile ride in June 2019 to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).

Seth

It was in my sophomore year at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs right around March 2021 when I first discovered the lump in my neck. I was simply doing homework at my desk, and my hand unconsciously brushed against my neck. I stopped and started to feel the unusual lump in my neck.

Soon after that, the tests started.

Survivorship

Use this Survivorship Workbook to collect all the important information you need throughout diagnosis, treatment, follow-up care and long-term management of a blood cancer.

Printable Financial Worksheets

The worksheets below may help when you are thinking about the many financial concerns that come up after you have received a diagnosis of a blood cancer.

Use these worksheets to keep track of questions to ask your healthcare and financial team members. Staying organized helps decrease many financial stressors and allows you to focus on feeling better.

Types of Complementary Therapies

An integrative healthcare team evaluates the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of each patient and then recommends specific therapies and lifestyle changes as part of a comprehensive treatment plan. Team members consider the scientific evidence, identify risks and benefits, and take into account individual preferences when they advise patients about complementary therapies.

Catherine

In March 2014, I woke up at my normal time to get ready for work. I could barely move - I was so ill and every part of my body hurt. I didn't’t think anything of being sick since I had started to feel ill on Sunday and it was just getting worse. I figured that I would stay home sick and be back to work the next day.