Search Results
Rebecca
Everything happens for a reason and our pain is not for vain. Hi, my name is Rebecca Yanez, I am 22 years old and a 2x acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivor, as well as a sufferer of rheumatoid arthritis.
Gezell
Calvin and I are the best of friends, playmates, and hopeless romantics! We found each other in midlife, and we’ve decided to remain newlyweds because we can! We have the privilege of working together every day, and we really love it! Christ is the foundation for our marriage, so the adversities we have faced together made our relationship strong and stable.
Kiana
In July 2013, during what was supposed to be a normal sports physical, I turned my head to the side to talk to my doctor, and my mom noticed something, "Is that a lump on her throat?" she asked. An ultrasound and biopsy afterward revealed that I had papillary thyroid carcinoma, a type of thyroid cancer that required major surgery to remove my thyroid and a few affected lymph nodes from my neck, along with radiation treatment. Though they caught it early and I didn't need chemotherapy to treat my cancer, the treatment was still very difficult for me to deal with.
Amy
My story begins on Christmas Eve 2008. My daughter was a 8th grader and was singing her first solo during Christmas Eve mass. I was sick!
Jason
From an early age, Jason Wexler showed an interest in curing cancer and would even make "potions," according to his mother, Sherri. An extrovert like his father, Kevin, Jason has always liked making a difference for others and has great ideas to share.
When he turned sixteen, the sophomore at The Grauer School in Encinitas knew he wanted to do something to help give back. Jason learned about the "Students of the Year" program for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and knew he had to get involved.
Chase Malone
I am a Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor. It took me seven months to build up the courage to share my story, but if my story inspires even just one other patient like myself, I’d be more than grateful.
I was 21 and had just graduated a year early from Florida State University with my finance degree. I moved to Miami to start my dream career in commercial real estate investment finance. I was seemingly on top of the world before tragedy struck.
Mya
In 2017, Mya was just two years old when diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML M6) in her central nervous system, which created solid tumors in her brain and spine.
Mya started having seizures in February 2017, after hitting the back of her head on a sliding board in our yard while playing with her big brother, Logan. After a few more seizures which led to several emergency room visits, an EEG was scheduled as well as an MRI.
Nicolas
My name is Nicolas and I am 14 years old. Before my diagnosis I was a completely healthy child, in fact I was rarely ever sick. I played baseball, had straight A’s, and recently had recently got a new puppy. This sense of normalcy came to a screeching halt on January 13, 2018. That’s the day I was admitted into the pediatric ICU and the day I first heard the words, “you have cancer.” My family and I were devastated.
Greg
Today I am a proud dad, avid skier, business owner and husband. For a moment though, let’s flash back to college. I wasn’t feeling well but I needed to take one last final just before winter break. After the final, I went to the school clinic and the next thing I knew it was January and I was in a hospital bed in Denver.
I was 19 years old and had been flown in a helicopter from my college town of Durango, CO to Denver. I had been in an induced coma for the last three and a half weeks. I woke up unable to speak or move my arms, legs - I couldn’t even lift a finger.
Kimberlee
On December 29, 2023, my life took an unexpected turn. My family and I were traveling to California for the holidays when, during takeoff back to Georgia, I felt a sudden pop in my chest as the cabin pressure changed. I was immediately struck by intense pain, unable to move or catch my breath. Determined to hold on until we landed, I braced myself through the agony.
Kimberly
In October of 2020, I became sick with a sinus infection. After a 10-day dose of antibiotics, I was still sick, and the doctor gave me a stronger dose of antibiotics. Once I finished the five-day dose, I felt better, but every day I had a headache. After 28 days of continuous headaches, I decided to call the doctor again and let him know. It was a Friday, and he was off, so I was told to wait until the following Monday. Over the course of the weekend, I developed another sinus infection and lesions on my body, including on my uvula.
Jonathan
I’ll start from the beginning.
In 2012, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. I had surgery to remove the mixed germ cell tumor and then was on the road to recovery. My lymph nodes were larger than they should have been, so I opted to err on the side of caution and had a lymph node dissection to have them removed. That was an invasive surgery that kept me out of work and from doing any physical activity for over six months. Once I healed up, I went back to work as a full-time police officer in Worcester, MA.
Diagnosis
While certain signs and symptoms may indicate that a person has MF, a series of tests are needed to confirm the diagnosis. It is important to have an accurate diagnosis, as it helps the doctor to:
- Estimate how the disease will progress
- Determine the appropriate treatment
Some of these tests may be repeated both during and after treatment to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment.
Healthy Eating
People living with cancer may have different nutrition goals and challenges, depending on their:
Managing Insurance and Expenses During Illness
It's important to resolve financial issues before they become a source of increased stress or limit your access to needed treatments, prescription medications or support services. Therefore, discuss payment options with members of your healthcare team or the treatment centers' patient financial services department. Patients and providers can work together to devise ways to reduce costs without compromising treatment. Ask your providers about:
Caring for Your Child During Treatment
Preparing the HomeThe following changes to your home may make life easier and safer for you and your child:
Are Clinical Trials Safe?
U.S. clinical trials are designed to give patients the safest, potentially most effective clinical therapies. Clinical trials are conducted once researchers have shown in the laboratory and in animal research that a particular study treatment has a good chance of offering better outcomes for people with a specific disease.
Patients enrolled in cancer clinical trials are never treated as “guinea pigs.” In fact, patients are given either
Peripheral Neuropathy
Cancer treatment, or sometimes the disease itself, can cause peripheral neuropathy (PN) — damage to nerves of the peripheral nervous system, which transmits information from the brain and spinal cord to every other part of the body. Peripheral neuropathy can be caused by:
Long-Term and Late Effects For Cancer Survivors
Blood cancer survivors don't always have serious long-term or late effects of treatment. For those who do, some long-term effects, such as fatigue, can linger for months or years after therapy. Late effects, such as medical conditions like heart disease and other cancers, don't appear until years after treatment ends. Effects can range from mild to severe.
Talk with your doctor about possible long-term and late effects. Your risk for developing long-term or late effects can be influenced by your:
Home Care
You don't necessarily need to depend on inpatient medical facilities to meet all your healthcare needs. If your condition allows, you can get the quality care you need at home and avoid the inconveniences of hospitals, nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities.
Lori
When my husband Ken was first diagnosed and treated for AML it felt like we were trapped in a fierce storm and being tossed about in a fury of wind. My husband Ken was diagnosed with AML (acute myeloid leukemia) and received intense treatment, spending a total of 120 days in the hospital in 2019, culminating in a bone marrow transplant (BMT). We are so grateful that his only sibling was a viable match as many patients struggle for years searching for a donor.
Who We Are
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is at the forefront of the fight to cure cancer. We are the largest nonprofit dedicated to creating a world without blood cancers. Since 1949, we’ve invested nearly $1.3 billion in groundbreaking research, pioneering many of today’s most innovative approaches.
Cancer is a heck of an opponent.
It's a bully. But we aren't afraid of a fight. It's elusive. But our focus never fades. It's deadly. But we are known, cancer killers.
Jamie
After he was diagnosed with blood cancer in 2013, Jamie was told by doctors that he’d never walk again, let alone ride a bike. Despite those predictions, he finished a 540-mile ride in June 2019 to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).