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Myeloma Awareness Month: Aiming for more

Isabelle

I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on December 4, 2003, at the age of five. As a young child, I was very energetic and loved to do anything outdoors and active, and I especially loved a good competition with my older brother Harrison. My parents began noticing that something was off when I started complaining about not being able to walk up the big hills in San Francisco where we lived. This was very uncharacteristic of me as I loved to race my brother to the top.

Diagnosis

Having the correct diagnosis is important for getting the right treatment. Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) may be difficult to diagnosis. You may want to get a second medical opinion by an experienced hematopathologist before you begin treatment. A hematopathologist is a specialist who studies blood and bone marrow cells and other tissues to help diagnose diseases of the blood, bone marrow and lymph system.

Brianna

"He was the king of positivity" is what Dr. McCarthy at Roswell Park said to me the day after my Dad passed away from complications of GVHD or graft-versus-host disease. My Dad was a leader, someone who was always willing to help others, and always had a smile on his face. Not only was I his co-caregiver throughout his cancer journey, but he was also my caregiver during mine.

A Source of Hope: Understanding Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplants

Imagine a community filled with families, friends, and healthcare professionals united to transform the meaning of living with blood cancer. This diverse group of people—including researchers, doctors, care partners, and healthcare teams—are bound together by hope, resilience, and a shared goal: to overcome the challenges and live longer better lives.

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.

Allyson

In November 2016 I was tired. TIRED. I had a 20-month-old and a 4-year-old, had just come off the busiest month of the year for work, and I figured I was tired for no other reason. But then tired became not having the energy to take care of my 20-month-old. Tired became going to be my best friend's wedding and needing to lay down in between steps. Shower, lay down. Makeup, lay down. Hair, lay down. Get dressed, sit for a minute. Walking a long hallway seemed daunting. And then carrying my son from my car at a gas station to the restroom inside on a road trip was too much.

Options for Egg Preservation

You may be able to take certain steps and precautions to preserve fertility before, during and after treatment. 

Creating Great Investigators: LLS’s New Pathway To Medical Science For Underrepresented Minorities

Every Year Counts: Celebrating My Healing from Hodgkin Lymphoma

Many blood cancer survivors remember the day they were diagnosed, and they never forget it. For Racheli Alkobey Peltier—Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS)— when that date comes around, it’s a chance to mark her progress.  

Each year, Racheli marks important milestones in her experience with blood cancer—taking time to reflect, feel gratitude, and look ahead. These dates are her “cancerversaries.”  

Elisabeth

I was first diagnosed at 12 years old when I didn’t even know what the word cancer meant. I remember sitting at the kitchen table with my family, laying my head down and sobbing because they told me I would lose my hair. I have lost my hair five times since. You see, fighting tooth and nail for your life at a young age produces a certain type of grit ― one where you choose daily to do hard things while also stopping to smell the flowers on the way, one where you enjoy the little moments most take for granted because tomorrows were never promised.

Tricia

My story is truly about the little family that could. In 2002, I felt I had it all: a loving partner, a new job offer, and plans to start a family. Upon my return from a business trip in May, that feeling shifted as a large lump appeared on the side of my neck. Several doctor visits, tests, and sleepless nights later, I received a phone call on the way to a meeting from a doctor. He asked me to pull the car over. He told me I had cancer. Everything stopped.

Lauren

To be healed by the miracles of modern medicine and prayer was the most profound experience of my life. It is difficult to articulate the gratitude my family and I feel in our hearts for the people who made it so. There is no scenario where I would be here today, writing this account, without the research made possible by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).

Count on LLS this Blood Cancer Awareness Month

Savanna

My name is Savanna, I’m 24 years old, and I am a two-time Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) survivor! I was diagnosed in 2017 when I was 18 during my freshman year of college. I had been severely sick for a year and a half with symptoms ranging from nausea, vomiting, unexplained weight loss, lack of appetite to a distended abdomen, debilitating migraines, swollen lymph nodes all over my body, extreme fatigue, and drenching night sweats. I had test after test done, saw doctor after doctor, and after months of being my own advocate, I had finally received a diagnosis.

Edie

My warrior daughter Edie entered the world on July 30, 2016 with eyes wide open ready to soak it all in and leave behind her indelible mark. From early on, we knew we had our hands full. Our first months as new parents were filled with the usual sleepless nights and anxiety, but Edie had a special way of keeping us on our toes. Our wide-eyed beauty did not take kindly to naps or bedtime, fighting vigorously to have her way, but we soon realized this was Edie’s world and we were just living in it.

Stefan

The hills I have climbed

Manuel

Part 1: A Survivor’s Mission

Ten years ago, my life was forever changed by three words, “You have cancer.” Those words shocked my invincible-minded adolescence into reality. I was a 15-year-old sophomore in high school, and I was terrified beyond comprehension. I knew nothing about cancer, chemotherapy, or what was about to happen to me. All I knew was that my life was involuntarily put on hold as I engaged in war with an enemy I never saw coming. With my entire world turned upside down and displaced within the confines of DuPont Hospital, life seemed utterly hopeless.

Kari

I am writing this in 2022, but I never would have believed when acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) struck my daughter in 2013, that it would feel like we were back at step 1.

Alice

In March 2023, while visiting my daughter and son-in-law in San Francisco, I saw the Climb2Cure trip to Patagonia listed on The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) website. They have always talked about their backpacking trip to Patagonia in Argentina and Chile as their favorite hiking trip ever. This event would be my 16th LLS fundraising adventure since going into remission from multiple myeloma (MM) in 1999. 

“People Just Didn’t Get It”: Treating Young Adults with Cancer

Think of spring break: warm sunny skies, a refreshing drink, and hopefully, a feeling of freedom.  

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.

3 Insights from a Clinical Trial Patient

The road to finding new and better cancer treatments often includes an important step: clinical trials. For patients with hard-to-treat diseases, these studies can be superhighways to the right treatment. A clinical trial can tell oncologists whether a new treatment works, how certain cancer types affect the body, and more.