Search Results
Alicia
You never think it will happen to you until it does. Hearing the idea that you might have cancer was one of the darkest moments of my life. I was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) in February 2023 at only 27 years old. I am a mom, a wife, a sister, a daughter, and a pediatric ICU nurse. I am used to taking care of patients on their worst days, but becoming a patient made a huge impact on me and made me a better nurse and advocate for patients/family/friends.
Blaine
Everything happens for a reason, even cancer. I am thrilled to say I just walked out of the hospital doors at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center after receiving the news that I have achieved a complete and total REMISSION. Leukemia pushed me to death’s door more than once, and it taught me more than I could ever dream of knowing about myself and life in general.
Mike
I was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in December 2004 at stage 0 which was revealed through a routine yearly physical.
Heather
My name is Heather and I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) +FLT3/ITD on December 14th, 2017. That morning I noticed I was extremely pale and I had large bruises over my body. My doctor ran blood work STAT and within an hour I knew my platelets were below 20 and I needed to rush to the ER. I was pretty near death at that time. I was in Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC), which has a pretty high mortality rate.
Douglas
My story begins almost 24 years ago in 1996, when I was diagnosed with cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Back then, there was no cure for CLL except for a bone marrow transplant (BMT), but that procedure only had a survival rate of 50%, not very attractive odds. My prognosis was I had anywhere from six to 15 years without a BMT.
Grace
We were busy living our daily lives, and Grace had just celebrated her 9th birthday. She was involved in dance and was a normal kid, but cancer came on so quickly and knocked us down.
Will
In April 2021, as I was just starting to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, I started to feel unwell. I was suddenly very tired and could not finish a soccer match. My family and I decided to reach out to our family doctor and look into my fatigue; we were not worried at all. We attributed my symptoms to adolescence and growth, and so did our doctor at first.
Maverick
My son, Maverick, a vibrant and spirited young boy, faced a daunting challenge at just 20 months old. His journey began with alarming symptoms — relentless nosebleeds, unexplained bruises, and a petechial rash that spread rapidly. Within three days of the first symptom, he was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) on July 14, 2022. It was like we found the first symptom on day one, and by day three, he had a cancer diagnosis.
Kelly
This is a photo of my best friend and I -- my Grandma Smiley and I. Grandma Smiley was first diagnosed with Llukemia in 2000. Until just recently she was still fighting, 15 years later.
My Grandma Smiley is the toughest person I know. I spent countless weekends with her, getting spoiled with her kindness. I'll never forget how she would always take me to Taco Bell for dinner, and we would watch TV while we ate - two things my parents would never let me do. And waking up at Grandma Smiley's always meant waking up to the best homemade waffles you'll ever have.
Katie
Katie is a beautiful young girl who was diagnosed with T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on January 24, 2015. Her cancer is particularly aggressive and presented with subtle signs such as lethargy, loss of appetite, and just a general change in personality. Her family took her to the ER just to find that she had masses in her lungs, liver and spleen.
Bradley
I was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) on February 13, 2017. I went to MD Anderson since I was already living in Houston, Texas. I was a pastor and counselor for 24 years. I was able to use my counseling skills with other patients as I was going through my inpatient treatment. I introduced patients to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and AFLAC, as well as provided a listening ear. My life was not without troubles. My brother took his life the same day as my diagnosis. After my first relapse, my wife of 24 years passed from stomach cancer in May 2019.
Dane
I was diagnosed with stage 3 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in the summer before my senior year of high school in 2020. It was a tough adjustment dealing with the treatment and the aftereffects of treatment while going into my final year of high school. A relatively carefree life was upturned in an instant, and I was presented with new challenges of balancing my new condition with the social and educational challenges that the final year of high school posed.
Grace
I went to a simple doctor's appointment on October 27, and from that day on, my life flipped upside down. I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in October of 2021 right before Halloween. I planned to take a gap year after my high school graduation that year, but now I didn’t have a choice. At the beginning of treatment, everything was going well. Although this was all new to me and my mom, who was staying in the hospital with me where I lived for 41 days, I was doing well. I had hope. I had a few setbacks during my stay which caused me to be there longer.
Lo
I was diagnosed with stage 3 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) in February 2022. I endured six months of chemotherapy and relied on my girlfriend to be my caregiver. I faced many setbacks including remaining neutropenic for the majority of my treatment. This meant staying home 24/7 despite going to the hospital and spending a lot of time online.
Michele
Bald is beautiful. Words and looks can be truly powerful. Positivity can change one’s opinion and most important of all, people. Surround yourself with people that make you cry that you’re laughing so hard, that make you smile for no reason, and leave your heart whole.
Miguel
Miguel was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2017. He was an active, healthy man all his life so this came as a total shock. We didn't know what to expect or what the outcome would be and we were both beyond devastated.
As being inquisitive is my nature, I gathered all the information I could and became extremely proactive in my husband's care and my determination to get him healed from this disease. Giving up was NOT an option for either of us.
Dianne
When I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to be a nurse so I could help people. I did become a registered nurse, predominately in critical care settings. So, when you receive a disease diagnosis, you treat the problem…right? Not necessarily I have learned.
I was recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). I felt as if I was tumbling down a dark, hot hole. “Not curable, treatable, lifelong”. This is “watch and wait” protocol diagnosis…an overwhelming concept…”watch and worry”, I was told, was another concept.
Abby
In 2015, our identical twin daughters, Kenedi and Kendal, were diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at three months old. After a brutal six months of living in isolation with them in one room at the hospital, the twins were released off treatment and in remission. We enjoyed 12 months of at home as a family of five, we were devastated to learn Kendal relapsed. She underwent two more rounds of intense chemo as well as a bone marrow transplant that ultimately failed, Kendal died in our arms in September 2017. One week later, Kenedi celebrated two years in remission.
Ryan
I am a 12 year survivor of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and was heavily involved with LLS when I was a patient going through treatment. I was a part of the Honored Hero program during elementary and middle school and would go speak and tell my story to schools in the Cincinnati Tri-State area with my mother.
Shelley
Shelley was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma in September of 2010 after finding a lump behind her ear. Testing showed she was in stage 3 and had a tumor in her large intestine. Her doctors went before the tumor board, where several other medical experts reviewed her options, to determine whether she should have surgery or chemotherapy. Approximately two weeks later she ended up having emergency open colon surgery and surgeons found another tumor blocking her small intestine.
Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor (TKI) Therapy
Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are a type of targeted therapy. TKIs come as pills, taken orally. A targeted therapy identifies and attacks specific types of cancer cells while causing less damage to normal cells. In CML, TKIs target the abnormal BCR::ABL1 protein that causes uncontrolled CML cell growth and block its function, causing the CML cells to die.
The first therapy given for a disease is called “initial” or “first-line” treatment. The following four TKI drugs are approved as first-line treatment for chronic phase CML:
Signs and Symptoms
MF usually develops slowly. MF often does not cause early symptoms and may be found during a routine blood test. When fibrosis develops in the bone marrow, the bone marrow is unable to produce enough normal blood cells. The lack of blood cells causes many of the signs and symptoms of MF. These include:
Big Climb
No matter where you live, no matter what your connection to cancer may be, you can step up to take cancer down by being a part of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Big Climb.
Take on a new challenge, by climbing to the top of iconic buildings, all while raising critical funds towards The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.