Search Results
Loxley
In early September of 2020, my son started to complain of back pain. I took him to the pediatrician, where he was assessed and a multiview x-ray was ordered. It was normal. I agreed to keep a log of his back pain complaints.
Joshua
Joshua was a regular 11-year-old. He played multiple sports, was learning to play the flute in the school band, and enjoyed having fun with his friends. After a few weeks of a nagging sore throat and enlarged tonsils, we took Josh to see his primary care physician (PCP). They ran some tests and sent him home. No big deal, just a routine trip to the doctor’s office. Josh's PCP called the next day at 6:00 p.m. . . . on a Saturday. She said that she was worried about some of Josh's blood test results and recommended we go to an urgent care or emergency room for further checks.
Nora
Nora was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on August 20, 2018. This is the day our lives were turned upside down and forever changed. Nora was about three weeks away from her second birthday, and we were in utter shock that she would now be fighting an unfathomable battle. After all, this was Nora, our go-hard, go-fast, ray of sunshine. Never did we imagine anything could get her down. But yet, here we were.
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
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.
Michele
Michele decided she wanted to volunteer with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) because she herself and millions of others have been impacted by cancer. Both of Michele’s parents passed away from cancer and during that time, a lot of people were there for them. She knows how important that was for her and her family.
Marie
In early 2017 we found out my husband Miguel had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma diffuse large B-cell. It was the most frightening and overwhelming time of our lives. To this day I am amazed at how we got through it.
Debbie
I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) on November 6, 2017. I was transported to the James Cancer Hospital and immediately placed in a medically induced coma for several weeks. I was given intense chemotherapy with little hope that I would survive. Luckily for me, I did survive and was sent to Dodd Hall where I would learn to walk, talk, think, and swallow without asphyxiating myself. After two long months in the hospital, I went home in January of 2018 to fatten up and get strong enough for my stem cell transplant.
Kamal
Most Capital Region 16-year-olds are well into the routine of the school year by now. But Kamal Havercombe hasn’t started his junior year at Albany High School. He hasn’t set foot in a classroom yet. Instead, he has been in and out of the hospital getting multiple blood transfusions, fighting fevers as high as 108 degrees and undergoing chemotherapy sessions that leave him weak and sickened.
Kimberly
When my husband, NFL linebacker Elijah, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2005, shortly after retiring from the Oakland Raiders, we were stunned. Neither of us had ever heard of it.
Life with multiple myeloma became an instant roller coaster. As his caregiver I knew it was my job to learn as much as possible about what we were facing, while trying to keep things normal for our two young sons.
Monica
Monica was learning how to be a new mom to a six-month-old baby when her night sweats got worse and worse. She also seemed to have a cough that would not go away. It turns out that her symptoms were not due to the daycare bugs her daughter brought home. In April 2017, she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Her clinical care team discovered a malignant 5 inch mass in her chest near her heart.
Lynn
My wife, Lynn Lancour, spent endless time and resources organizing a bicycle trip from San Diego to St. Augustine, approximately 3,000 miles, to raise funds and awareness for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).
Len
My son was rubbing my shoulders and noticed a lump on the side of my neck which freaked him out. He then told my wife about it and they demanded that I go have it checked. In November 2013, I was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
I had my second round of treatment this past spring. The first one was rituxan alone and this last time was rituxan along with bendamustine for six months.
Stefani
I was experiencing a really bad sore throat for at least a month. It would come and go. No meds or steroid shots about the fourth week helped. I attended a breast cancer event at my family’s restaurant. I was feeling bad, literally in tears and in lots of pain. My mother took me to the nearest hospital immediately after. On October 10, 2021, my life as a newly single mom changed forever. I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). I was devastated. My kids can’t live without me. We immediately went straight into intense chemo and attacked this beast.
Chris
Chris is a retired Army colonel. He graduated from Temple University and set into life at home with his family when he was diagnosed with a hernia. In the process of preparing for healing, he was told the hernia was no longer his challenge as he had a rare form of leukemia. The battle was on long after the battlefield, and as a chemist, he knew like any soldier does that tomorrow is not promised. But courage, teamwork, a battle plan, family love, and a foundation built on research and millions of man-and-woman-hours showed that the light at the end of the tunnel was a bright shining star.
Christine
Back in 2019, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and was only given two weeks to live. I stayed the entire month in the hospital undergoing chemotherapy every day and blood transfusions. When I was released from the hospital at the end of August 2019, the doctor said I needed to do chemotherapy every day for nine months, and I would not be able to work. I asked the doctor, "May I work from home?
Cindy
Our church choir had put on a big Easter program in 2002, lots of practices and multiple performances. After the fact, several, including me, came down with an upper respiratory infection. All my friends got better, but I didn’t. Then I started having low energy to the point that I couldn’t do my daily workouts. Next came the appearance of big, ugly bruises on my legs. At that point, I thought I was anemic. When I called to get a doctor’s appointment, the only opening was with his nurse practitioner.
Kristy
On May 24, 2020, at 23 years old, I started getting dizzy out of nowhere. I thought maybe I needed to eat and sleep better, but it got worse. I went to the ER, and they said I was anemic and sent me home. I bought a bunch of food that’s supposed to help anemia, but I kept getting worse, to the point where I couldn’t get up to eat. I would throw up and get dizzy and almost pass out. I lost color, and my lips turned pale. I lost weight, and I pretty much looked like a zombie. Then one day I couldn’t get up, and I sat in the same spot for hours.
Yarnall Family
To be of service to others comes naturally to the Yarnalls. Bob is a 25-year Marine Corps veteran and a teacher. Kim is a chiropractor for over 22 years.
Zoie
My mom thought it was the flu, maybe mono. After I spent five days lying in bed, she took me to an Urgent Care Clinic. I knew it was something far more serious after they called an ambulance. My mom wouldn’t believe the Urgent Care doctor when he told her he suspected it was cancer. Unfortunately, he was right. I was 11 when I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
Berenise
On October 22, 2013, as a senior in college, I was spontaneously diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). I was immediately admitted into the hospital and began chemotherapy. The doctors basically said, "good luck”, as I received the routine treatment that has a survival rate of 25%. My life was flipped upside down in a matter of days. I went from planning what I was going to do after college, to deciding if I would want people at my funeral to wear black or be colorful. I didn't know whether to cry, scream, or be angry.
Bob
It has been 69 days since I sat in the hospital bed next to my father as he passed away from the horrors only a disease like leukemia could bring. It has been 69 days since my father passed away and "Into the Mystic" still plays on repeat in my head as it re-played over and over again in that hospital room as we urged him to go, that it was okay. For those who tell me that only time will make this better, 69 days still feels like yesterday, 69 days and I am still bargaining, pleading to see my dad on the couch when I open my front door.
Michael
I’m a 12-year survivor of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). I was diagnosed on Sunday, October 4, 2009.
My oncologist was Dr. Ian Flinn. The first 24 hours following my diagnosis were very harrowing. I was ground transported from Murfreesboro to Sarah Cannon Cancer Center in Nashville where they had a gurney awaiting me curbside. A nurse by the name of Regina stayed with me for almost the entire duration of my first eight hours.
Siri
Siri is the most resilient, loving, inspiring, authentic, and brilliant woman I have ever met. She lives each day to the fullest and is filled with gratitude for all life and for every breath she takes. Her joy, light, and exuberance illuminate all around her. She is a two-time World Champion Triathlete, a top 10 global speaker, a best-selling author, a Tony Robbins keynote speaker at his worldwide events, saves horses from abuse, and so much more. Her life's mission is to help others. Here's a very condensed version of her story.
Kali’a
Kali’a, at just four months old, was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a high-risk condition requiring a bone marrow transplant. What began as a routine four-month check-up quickly turned into our worst nightmare. Despite having plans for a day at Disneyland, a decision to keep the appointment proved fateful as the doctor discovered her enlarged spleen. Tests followed, but we managed to enjoy a memorable day at Disneyland where Kali’a's joy and smiles were infectious. The next day, a life-altering call shattered our world.