Search Results
Krisha
I started noticing some things were "off" with my body. In early August 2022, my daughters noticed several large, unexplained bruises on my legs. I just brushed them off as being clumsy or running into something. Then, while lying in bed reading to one of my daughters, my lower jaw and lip went numb, like when you have Novocaine. I got up and moved around, and it got better. This started to be a daily occurrence, and about a week or so later, I woke up and could not open my mouth. I thought I had TMJ, so I called my dentist. He had me come in and looked at my mouth/jaw.
Peter
My story starts a year and a half before diagnosis when a serious body surfing accident led to blood tests showing significantly low red and platelet counts. My primary care physician (PCP) retested several times in a short period, and when the counts came back closer to normal, she chose to stop her inquiry without scheduling further tests or redoing the same test, say, six months later to see if the lower values were actually correct. There was no discussion of what it would have meant if the lower counts were, in fact, an accurate representation of my blood health.
Aryan
Hello, my name is Aryan. I am 13 years old. I was almost five years old when I first got diagnosed with cancer. It started as a normal summer like always, and we were planning to go somewhere. My dad was always traveling because of work, so it was just me and my mom. I would mostly spend time at my grandparents’ house because I could play games with them. One day my dad saw a bump on the back of my head, and our pediatrician told us that it was a lymph node. My pediatric doctor told my parents that it's normal, part of recovery from a fever or cough and to monitor it.
Israel
I am 39 years old, a father of two boys and one girl ― Abdias, 12 years old; Ester, 10 years old; and Ben, 9 years old ― and a husband to my wife Erin for almost 14 years.
On August 14, 2021, I suffered a serious knee injury playing basketball which inadvertently led to revealing I had a blood cancer called chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Suddenly, instead of prepping for knee surgery, I was sent to the hospital and received an official diagnosis on September 9 after a bone marrow biopsy and what felt like a million tests.
Steve
"This is just for now; I will get past this." Being diagnosed at age 56 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was the biggest surprise of my life. I was active, healthy, and strong, and had just "married off" my daughter days earlier. Oddly, I didn't experience much fear; I knew my life was changing greatly and that there would be challenges ahead that I'd never imagined. But I never thought to myself, "If I survive this." It was always, "When I'm cured of this." I had this optimism and countenance that everything would be okay and that I would live to be a grandfather.
Side Effects
Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) treatment can sometimes produce side effects. Most patients can manage their side effects without stopping therapy.
Before you start treatment, talk with your doctor about potential side effects. Drugs and other therapies can prevent or manage many side effects. Many treatment side effects go away or become less noticeable over time.
Treatment Outcomes
AML is a difficult disease to cure, but survival rates for childhood AML have improved over the past several decades. From 2012 to 2018, the 5-year relative survival rate was 69.0 percent for children and adolescents younger than 15 years. However, there is a wide range of outcomes for different subtypes of AML.
For statistics, click here.
Related Links- Download or order LLS's free booklet:
Elyssa
My daughter, Elyssa donated her hair for children with cancer only months before she herself was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma. Upon her diagnosis, she had the rest of her hair put in ponytails and had it cut to her scalp so the rest could be donated.
Being diagnosed in her first year of college at University of Connecticut, she immediately went to the disabilities office and applied so she could continue with the semester.
Denisse
Denisse Cervantes is a pre-med student studying neuroscience, in her senior year at the University of Texas in El Paso. She is studying to be a doctor, specifically in the field of pediatrics. She was looking for volunteer roles that would give her the opportunity to make a difference in her community.
Heather
Heather Banks draws her inspiration from her good friend, who has been fighting non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma for the past 10 years and her college best friend who is a survivor. She is motivated by her friends’ strength, determination, and positivity. In times of feeling helpless, she channels that energy and puts it into her sewing machine.
Ashen
My son, Ashen graduated from high school this year, but he was diagnosed with leukemia back in July 2015. He was devastated and depressed when he was told of his life threatening illness. Here is his story.
Richard
People tend to think that cancer will never affect them. I know, because I was once one of those people. Growing up, I never knew of anyone that had cancer. Then, in 2005, my father-in-law contracted a brain tumor; the worst type. I remember feeling a sort of, panicky feeling in the beginning as we were told he had three to six months to live. However, since day one, he had the best outlook on life and he lived until 2008. He is just one of my hero’s.
Eileen
To say that I have always been daddy's little girl would be the biggest understatement. Everything from school dances to projects in the garage, I could always be found by my dad's side. In 2009, my dad was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Maddox
Maddox's journey began in October 2015 when he first started showing signs of being sick at just three years old. He had a tummy ache one day and a few bruises on his arms and legs, both of which we thought we had explanations for. It wasn't until he experienced a nose bleed at daycare and had an extraordinarily whiny day on a field trip, that I started to wonder if something else was going on.
Steve
Shortly before Steve McHugh and his wife moved to San Antonio in 2010, the rising star chef was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and spent a year undergoing eight rounds of chemotherapy. During treatment, he was in the middle of moving to San Antonio and helping to open a new restaurant. Between managing construction, organizing food vendors and working with the kitchen designer, he was able to find some time to go home and rest.
Jim & Leslie
Jim and Leslie Donigan have been married for almost 50 years. Currently retired with three adult children, they have both faced a cancer diagnosis, but are in remission today.
In October of 2003, Leslie was diagnosed with a stomach cancer called GIST (Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors) and was told it was terminal. But then her doctor tried a medication intended for blood cancer—and it worked.
Barrie
My story start’s the week after Christmas, I went to my family physician for my yearly physical and blood work. All came back good. I also schedule my first colonoscopy. All was good again except I been getting out of breath doing minor activities and short walks. My family physician suggested that maybe I try more exercise and walking during my breaks.
Ronnie
After several months of flu-like symptoms, 11-year-old All Star little leaguer Ronnie took a blood test that would determine his white blood cell count was nearly 1 million. Ronnie was immediately sent to Ann and Robert H. Lurie’s Children’s Hospital of Chicago where he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
Jason T.
My name is Jason T. Quimby and I am the proud past caregiver of my wife and ALL survivor Susana Moro. In November 2016, my wife, was diagnosed ALL leukemia ph+ and admitted to the Miami Cancer Institute South Miami Campus to start her pediatric chemo protocol. Needless to say that for a forty-something mother of three teenage girls this was a huge personal and family challenge to overcome.
Carter
In May 2019, when Carter was just two years old. While attending his cousin’s graduation in New York City, I knew something was not right because he was not feeling well. We rushed him to New York Presbyterian Hospital where he received several blood and platelet transfusions. He was then transferred to Cornell Medical Center where many tests were performed that resulted in the diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). When we heard those three word’s Carter has cancer, we did not expect that news!
Joan
What a beautiful wedding, a beautiful bride, and a handsome groom. Love was in the air. For 10 weeks this lovely couple lived in their honeymoon state of mind. They had been blessed with the ability to buy a small condo that they filled with dreams and aspirations of what was to come. Miranda was her name. She was physically very petite but oversized in her desire to be the best wife ever to Joe. Her long, dark hair emphasized those large, dark eyes and creamy clear skin. Ten weeks later, the diagnosis was leukemia. She took it as her personal challenge to do what she must to survive.
David
I am a proud, 52-year-old stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) survivor now living in Los Angeles again (my long-time home). I was living in Cleveland to help with some family matters for a couple of years. I found a great new job in Los Angeles, and the very day I accepted the new job, I received my diagnosis (August 25, 2022). That put my life on hold.
Andrew
My son, Andrew, was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) in January 2022. He had been very tired for months, and we had a frustrating few months while our primary care physician (PCP) missed his diagnosis and chalked it up to being a busy teen and perhaps needing a sleep study. When he was finally diagnosed, he was stage 4. He underwent six months of intense chemotherapy. Mid-treatment scans showed a complete response, and we were excited and relieved. His post-treatment PET scan, however, showed recurrence.
Kate
In April 2023, I went to the doctor for an MRI for what I thought was a torn meniscus in my left knee. Unfortunately, that MRI showed that there was a growth on my left femur. After two full months of testing, surgery, and some more testing, I was officially diagnosed with primary lymphoma of the bone (PLB). This type of lymphoma is pretty rare, so I immediately turned to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) for resources and guidance on how to navigate the scariest time of my life. The next month of my life was a whirlwind.