Search Results
Lynn
My wife, Lynn Lancour, spent endless time and resources organizing a bicycle trip from San Diego to St. Augustine, approximately 3,000 miles, to raise funds and awareness for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).
Jeff & Melanie
My wife, Melanie and I had always been pretty healthy. We exercised, tried to eat right and discovered the value of meditation. But things changed in 2018.
Melanie had developed a cough that just wouldn't go away. She had it for months. And then she discovered a lump near her collarbone. Tests revealed on Sept. 6, 2018, that the lump was Hodgkin lymphoma and it was present in several other lymph nodes. She began a months-long treatment regimen of chemotherapy and radiation. It wasn't easy.
Eliehue
One morning in June 2012, I woke up at at 3 a.m. with severe back pain and went straight to the emergency room. I was diagnosed with kidney stones, but as I read the scan report I noticed it had a footnote which said “bone lesions”. I showed this to my primary care doctor who then ordered blood work and referred me to an oncologist. Three weeks later, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma.
Carol
I have been told that my story is rare, so I would like to see if there is anyone who has had the same experience. I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM) in February 2023. I started chemo treatment in March 2023 and continued through May 2024. In February 2024, I noticed some changes happening to my body. I was losing weight, losing hair, had extremely dry skin, and had less and less energy. When I went for my PET scan in May 2024 to see if I had lesions in my spine from the MM, I was told they were completely gone, and I was most likely in remission.
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.
Oya
My three kids are my precious jewels, the reason I get up every morning. As a single parent, providing a good life for them is what fuels my drive to succeed. Little did I know that need to care for them would end up saving my life.
Elizabeth
I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM) in 2016. I had a hip replacement, and a mass was found on my hip, so I was referred to a cancer doctor. But the strangest thing was, I had no symptoms, so I went to the doctor, and I went through all kinds of tests. The doctor told me, “You have MM,” and I am like what's that? She said it was a blood cancer. I asked what do I need to do about it, and she told me I needed a stem cell transplant. But that was after so many doctor visits and labs, at one point she would tell me I had it and the next visit that I didn't.
Getting a Second Opinion
Leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes are each different types of cancers. What's more, each disease has subtypes. This means that the signs of the disease, how it's diagnosed and treated and the expected outcomes vary. That's why it's essential to have the right diagnosis before you begin or continue with treatment.
Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-Cell Therapy
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Debra
In October 2011, while at work, I fell after attempting to sit on a chair, and I went to the emergency for x-rays. As soon as the technician began the process, he entered the room to ask if I had scoliosis. I replied, "no" and he proceeded with the exam.
Steven
In 2017, I was 52 and in pretty good shape. I was at the gym working out, and after a certain lift, I could not get off the bench by myself. After being helped up, I somehow drove myself home. The next morning, I could not get out of bed without my wife lifting me up. We went straight to the doctor and got an MRI. Then we got the news “you have cancer,” and it is eating your vertebrate in your neck. I was sent to a spine and neck specialist and also to a cancer doctor to find out what kind of cancer. Multiple Myeloma (MM) was the diagnosis.
Elizabeth
On November 8, 2021, I was diagnosed with stage III multiple myeloma (MM), an incurable cancer. Prior to being diagnosed, I thought I was a healthy young woman and was just living life with my children. I would have different pains throughout my body, but I didn't think much about it and would ignore them for the most part. The pains throughout my body were getting more and more frequent, so I went to the ER in October 2021 because I was in pain and could not eat, they said I was possibly having acid reflux and gave me a prescription for nausea.
Paul & Lynn
In 2017, after 44 years of working in the railroad industry, Paul Sauter was just starting to enjoy his retirement, when his health started to decline out of nowhere. Typically, he was in extremely good shape and enjoyed long hikes with his wife, Lynn. One day, while on a mountain climb trip in Arizona, Lynn was concerned when she noticed Paul was not his usual athletic self. When he was unable to get out of bed because of severe back pain, she knew something wasn’t right.
Thomas
Before I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM) at age 34, my life looked very different from what it is today. I was a husband and a father. I had a full-time job at the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and I worked out a lot. And now? Well, I still work out a lot; that’s never changed, and I’ll always be a father. But the rest of it? It’s all gone away. And I couldn’t be any more at peace with it than I am now.
Kristen
In the fall of 2012, Kristen Comer noticed her energy level wasn't as high as it had been, but she thought nothing of it. It wasn’t until the fall of 2013 when she had unidentifiable bruises on her body and no change in her energy levels, that her general practitioner drew labs to determine a diagnosis. After three panels of blood work, Kristen was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) on December 31, 2013.
Tim
I knew multiple myeloma (MM) was a blood cancer. After all, my mom was diagnosed with myeloma at 62 years old in 2005. It’s extremely rare that I should also be diagnosed in 2021, but it happened. There’s no strong data that shows that it’s hereditary at this point. But more doctors are seeing family members being diagnosed. It's also becoming one of the most diagnosed cancers among African Americans.
Imaging Tests
Imaging or radiology tests pass different forms of energy (x-rays, sound waves, radioactive particles or magnetic fields) through your body, creating pictures of the chest, abdomen, head, neck and other parts of the body.
Donna
I was shockingly diagnosed with a monoclonal spike in November 2019 (six months after the unexpected death of my mom). Treatment was started in June 2020. I went to Mt. Sinai NYC where they have a team that just deals with multiple myeloma (MM). I am grateful that a couple of people recommended I go there. They treated me with four drugs, one of which wasn’t available at my local oncologist. The regimen was Velcade, Revlimid®, daratumumab, and dexamethasone. I had this induction therapy until my stem cell transplant in March 2021.
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.
Studies on clonal hematopoiesis in the 911 WTC first responders
The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) created an unprecedented environmental exposure to WTC aerosolized dust and gases that contained known and suspected carcinogens including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated furans, dioxins and asbestos. Studies from Dr.
Gwendolyn
Gwendolyn describes herself as a wanderlust who never likes to let the grass grow under her feet. After college, she moved from her hometown in Florida to Houston and spent the next few years moving around Texas for work. She started her new life in Texas where her son, Sterling, was born and raised. She loves traveling, but following a trip to Belize, she started to notice white spots on her skin and other strange issues happening with her health. After doing some research on her own and going to the doctors, she was told she likely had lupus.
John Patrick
During the summers of 2020 and 2021, I remember feeling really tired, I figured it was because of the summer heat, so I didn't pay much attention to it. Every year dating back to about 2008, about twice a year, I also have had back issues where the pain was so bad that it was hard for me to straighten up, and I would walk hunched over during that time. It would last for about two weeks at a time. I also noticed that it felt like my ribs would pop in and out of place.