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Clinical Trials
Taking part in a clinical trial may be the best treatment choice for some MDS patients. Clinical trials are under way for all MDS-risk types. Today's standard treatments for cancer are based on earlier clinical trials. LLS continues to invest funds in MDS research.
Click here to read more about clinical trials.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Clinical Trials
When it comes to finding the right treatment for your child's cancer, a clinical trial may be an option. Your child will have access to new or improved therapies under study and not yet on the market. Discuss with your child's doctor the possibility of participating in a clinical trial, where treatment is administered in a safe, closely monitored environment.
Click here to read more about clinical trials.
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.
School
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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.
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.
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.
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.
Diane
My journey with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) started in 2015 when my spouse was diagnosed with orbital lymphoma. I have been working in the oncology field for the past 20 years. Hearing the words my spouse has cancer was scary. After meeting with the oncologist he did not need treatments watch and wait approach was great news. Proudly he got to the 5 year benchmark and he is well. Then 2019 I started to have all abdominal issues. Pain, pressure in abdomen as well in my back. We did multiple scans all negative.
Dominick
My grandson, Dominick, was diagnosed with high risk pre b cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in November 2014. He was 2 3/4 years old and it was only 8 months after his dad unexpectedly passed away. Obviously this was a new shock for his mom, Danielle and his family. His sister Gianna, who just turned 5, still hadn't got over the loss of her dad and now had to deal with her brother's illness. Dominick had severe bruising and was diagnosed by his pediatrician.
Nathaniel
I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on October 27, 2020. I was 24 years old at the time, and my girlfriend had just given birth to our son a month before I got sick. I was first admitted to St. Mary’s Medical Hospital in Apple Valley, California, then later transferred to Loma Linda University Medical Center. The next year was the hardest for me, not being able to help my girlfriend take care of our newborn baby boy, missing holidays, birthdays, family gatherings, and events. I was constantly in and out of the hospital, so much so that it felt like I lived there.
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.