Search Results
Laraine
November 21st is Family Volunteer Day. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) encourages you to volunteer as a family today. Whatever you choose to do, do it together. Some ideas include: take a few minutes to call a friend, neighbor or colleague; cook a meal together and drop it at the doorstep of someone in need; rake a neighbor’s yard or put a book in a neighborhood lending library.
To honor this day, we are sharing the story about a family faced with a cancer diagnosis, who banded together when the future seemed so unclear.
Roberto
In the fall of 2014, I was living my dream. I had just finished my freshman year at NYU, where I studying musical theater. I was living in the East Village, experiencing everything that New York has to offer. Even though I was a long way from my family in Miami, I absolutely loved it. However, I soon started to feel lethargic, coupled with a lymph node that was popping out of my neck and getting bigger. Something just wasn’t right. I was downing 9 Advil a day and started seeing doctors to try and figure out what was going on.
Trisha
On November 15, 2019 at 29 years old, my world changed forever. I was diagnosed with Plasma Cell Leukemia. It is basically a hybrid of Multiple Myeloma and statistically only shows in men over 60. I wanted to be special but not like this! At my 6 week postpartum appointment with my second babe, my stomach had not been shrinking like it should but I assumed it was because it was my second baby or the diastasis recti. My OB did a ultrasound and saw a lot of ascites and that my liver was massive so she instructed I go to the ER as that was not normal.
Gregg
I sailed through the first 56 years of my life...bachelor's degree, master's degree, 20 years as a physical education teacher, 15 years as a district administrator and school principal. Along the way I founded AZ Disabled Sports, the Desert Challenge Games, SkiAble and other programming for individuals with physical disabilities.
Jarvis
In the fall of 2019, life was very active for me and my 4-year-old son Jarvis. I was busy working 2-3 jobs, and Jarvis was busy just being a kid. Almost every day after school we would go to the park so he could run around and play. He was even starting to get interested in bikes and wanting to learn to ride when he started to mention his feet were hurting.
Jonathan
I was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on July 26, 2019, and even without the involvement of a pandemic, I imagine that’s reason enough to believe that to me 2018 seems like a lifetime ago. Still, I can remember it well enough: A wide-eyed younger version of me arrived at college orientation, somehow simultaneously thrilled to begin a new chapter of his life and paralyzingly terrified of the imminent unknown.
Chancez
Hey, my name is Chancez (ironically, I was blessed with many chances last year). I became a part of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) community last year and was provided financial support. I was also presented with love, care, and daily reminders of all the support that was available to me to get me through such a rough period in my life. A friend of mine suggested that I share my story to help others in our community, especially young adults who are in the same predicament I was once in.
Henry
On April 6, 2021, we heard for the first time, “We think it's leukemia.” As I watched my boy jumping on the neighbor's bounce house enjoying the first warm spring afternoon, my mind went to one simple question, “Why him?” Up until that point, our then three-year-old, Henry, had been the happiest and healthiest toddler.
Paul
Thank you on behalf of the Freeman Wilner Family for this Honored Hero Award in memory of my father, Dr. Freeman Wilner, he was a hero to many.
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.
Use the Survivorship Workbook to collect all the important information you need throughout diagnosis, treatment, follow-up care and long-term management of a blood cancer.
Side Effects
The side effects of treatment for essential thrombocythemia (ET) will depend on many factors, including the type of treatment and dosage, the age of the patient and coexisting medical conditions.
Management of side effects is important. Patients should discuss any concerns about side effects with their doctor. Most side effects are temporary and resolve when treatment is completed
Clio
I lost my mom to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in 2003. Her battle was short, just three months, which left me in shock and feeling very angry. My mom had always instilled in me the value of working hard to accomplish goals and I knew she wouldn’t want me wasting energy being angry. In late 2004, I decided to find a way to channel the anger into something productive, and just weeks later I came across a Team In Training (TNT) brochure. I started running half marathons with TNT and I’ve since completed about a dozen.
Kristen
I was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma (BL) when I was 21 years old. It was the summer going into my senior year of college, and I had just returned home from a semester abroad. I assumed the stomachaches I was experiencing were because of the food and drinks I had while enjoying my time in Europe. I was actually told I had H. pylori and started antibiotics that were supposed to alleviate the stomach pains. But then a lump on my neck appeared, and I thought the worst.
Steve
I was diagnosed with stage 4 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in 2015. It is not known if Humira (a drug I was prescribed) caused it or just blew up the AML. On the night of diagnosis, I was told the hospital I was in could not treat me, and I would be transferred in the morning. About the time my wife returned home, she received a call that I had taken a turn for the worse and was being transferred immediately. During this time, we decided to use humor during interactions with all medical personnel from there on out.
Katie
Twenty years ago I did two things that shaped my life.
Mackenzie
At nine years old I received the devastating news that I had leukemia. I didn’t know exactly what this meant and little did I know that it meant years of treatment, hair loss, loss of friends, and learning who I was meant to be. I was a patient at St. Jude and received treatments for two and a half years. I lost my hair, I had SVTs, I had seizures, and everything that could happen did happen. I was so sick throughout my entire treatment, and I didn’t get to do very much. I was in the hospital most of the time, and very seldom was I had home or not in patient.
Sarah
In August of 2014, after a routine medical procedure, doctors suspected that Sarah may have a lymphoma type cancer. Soon thereafter, with her husband by her side, doctors confirmed that Sarah indeed had cancer, stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma.
Brianna
My name is Brianna Ciambra I live in New York and this is my story. When I was eleven, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. I went through two in a half years of chemotherapy which consisted of IV meds, spinal taps, steroids etc. I lost my hair during the chemo, which was very hard. I also developed a condition called Avascular necrosis. Avascular necrosis is bone loss in the joints, since 2009 I have had full bilateral hip and shoulder replacements. I also had my right knee fully replaced and two spinal surgeries.
Brianna
My name is Brianna Ciambra I live in New York and this is my story. When I was eleven, I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. I went through two-and-a-half years of chemotherapy which consisted of IV meds, spinal taps, steroids etc. I lost my hair during the chemo, which was very hard. I also developed a condition called Avascular necrosis. Avascular necrosis is bone loss in the joints, since 2009 I have had full bilateral hip and shoulder replacements. I also had my right knee fully replaced and two spinal surgeries.
Douglas
In December 2007 my life completely changed. I had a biopsy done just four days before Christmas, and my oncologist called me on Christmas Day to tell me that I needed to come in and see him after the holidays to discuss my pathology report. I was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma. I endured five surgeries in just four weeks and spent my 36th birthday in the hospital. I never once thought that cancer was going to beat me. My mindset was that I had cancer, but it did not have me.
Michelle
In 2011, I had started graduate school, had a two-year-old son, and ran a small business with my then husband. I was very fatigued and having night sweats and itchiness. I thought I was just stressed, and I was, but after several months of trying to get health insurance and then many tests, it was confirmed that I had Hodgkin lymphoma.
Max
My son Max was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma in May 2017, just 10 days before his 19th birthday. He discovered a lump under his chin a few months before, and in April he noticed it had grown. After we took him to get it checked out and learned the devastating news, we were in complete shock. He had no other signs of anything else being wrong.
Bella
Looking back at when this journey started, it kind of feels unreal. Life can change in an instant. For us, that moment was on September 2, 2016. Bella had been having fevers on and off for two months with no other symptoms and medicine was barely keeping them down. We took her to the doctor's office and were told it was probably just a virus.
Damion
In 2020, at the age of 36, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM). To say this was out of left field would be an understatement. Historically, MM has been recognized as a blood cancer that impacts older patients. That research may be changing. Also, MM disproportionally affects African Americans. At the time of my diagnosis, I was a pretty healthy guy. I tried to eat right and even played in two basketball leagues each week. When I went to the doctor with stomach issues, I wasn't expecting to leave with a cancer diagnosis.