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Options for Sperm Preservation

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

Chemotherapy and Drug Therapy

The main treatment for active myeloma is systemic drug therapy (meaning the drugs travel through the bloodstream to kill malignant cells). The initial therapy, or “induction therapy,” for myeloma usually includes a combination of targeted agents and/or standard chemotherapy. This therapy is often followed by stem cell transplantation in eligible patients.

Common drugs combinations for people with newly diagnosed myeloma include:

Treatment Outcomes

With the current advances in treatment and supportive care, survival rates for myeloma patients have improved significantly in the last decades. It is not unusual for myeloma patients to live for 10 years or longer after diagnosis. Outcomes are influenced by a series of patient-specific factors, including disease stage, chromosome abnormalities, age and presence of other medical problems. Patients should discuss their own potential outcomes with their doctors.

Click here to access myeloma survival statistics.

Thomas

My name is Thomas, and I was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) two weeks after my 30th birthday. Nobody wants to hear the words, "You have cancer," and even though my wife had some suspicions due to my recent weight loss and lower energy levels, it still came as a shock to both of us. The news hit hard, especially since all other aspects of my life were going extremely well. My wife and I had just moved to a new state earlier in the year, I received a promotion at work, we had just returned from a business trip out of state, and overall, things seemed to be going our way.

Zach

It was 2020, and besides the obvious chaos in the world, at that time my life was going great. My business was thriving, I had just gotten engaged, and my fiancée and I were beginning to talk about starting a family. I was at what felt like the peak of my life. Everything was going my way, or so I thought.

Tricia

My name is Tricia, and I am a two-time cancer survivor. In 2017, at the age of 27, I got a positive pregnancy test. We were elated! We already had a three-year-old daughter and couldn't wait to expand our family. I made an appointment with my OB-GYN to confirm the pregnancy and get a due date when she found a lump on my thyroid. I was constantly assured it would be nothing. Unfortunately, after a biopsy, it was confirmed to be thyroid cancer. I underwent surgery to remove half of my thyroid that had the tumor. It was very scary going under the knife since I was pregnant at the time.

Sonny

I never thought that one day I would be sharing a story like this, a story of resilience, survival, and transformation. Only a few years ago, I was living a life that many would consider a dream. I had just purchased my first home and was at the prime of my health. Then, in a single instance, everything changed when I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Heidi

My story starts a year before I was officially diagnosed. For months, I had been having GI issues, severe stomach pain, unexplained weight loss, and unexplained anemia. I was seeing the nurse practitioner (NP) at my primary care provider’s (PCP) office who kept prescribing antacids and attributed my symptoms to anxiety. It wasn't until a full year after my symptoms began that I went to a different NP at that office for swelling in my neck that had originally been dismissed as a muscle strain. She didn't like what she saw and immediately sent me for a CT scan.

Steve

I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) after moving from New Orleans to San Antonio, Texas. What started as a routine visit to an allergist for swelling in my cheeks, eyes, and neck turned into a life-changing moment when a CT scan revealed the unthinkable. In that devastating instant when my doctor delivered the news, I discovered that sometimes life's darkest moments can lead you to exactly where you need to be. The people of San Antonio didn't just welcome me ― they embraced me, making their city my sanctuary.

Todd

In July of 2017, I had what I thought was a lingering summer cold. After several days of feeling terribly fatigued, I started noticing my gums were tender and bleeding. I also noticed red spots appearing across my face and chest. That's when I went to my primary care doctor and he advised me to go to the emergency room. The look on his face told me he suspected something serious. At the ER, I had a complete blood count workup, and soon after the attending doctors confirmed that I had acute myeloid leukemia.

Steve

In June of 2016, I went to my primary care physician for a routine physical. Lab work revealed an abnormally low white blood cell count, triggering a bone marrow biopsy that found acute myeloid leukemia. In 48 hours, I went from feeling perfectly fine to a week-long, 24/7, chemotherapy cocktail. That was followed by four more weeks in the hospital to treat the inevitable infections and side effects of chemotherapy induced immunosuppression. I quickly learned that the rest of life doesn’t stop just because we’re sick.

Tina

As a lymphoma survivor, I want to take a moment to share my personal journey, as well as tell you all how The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) was with me every step of the way.

It all started in March 2018. We had been living in the UK with our two young daughters, and life was good! I had been feeling tired and had this hollow sound behind my ear. I saw doctors in both the UK and the U.S. who assured me it was most likely just my body trying to get over a sinus infection. 

Talking About Cancer

Telling people about your diagnosis is a very personal decision. Some people with cancer choose to tell only close family. Others find it helps to let more people know about their diagnosis. Take some time to consider what and how much you would like to share about your diagnosis and how you want to share this information. By letting friends and family know about your diagnosis, you give them the chance to offer their support.

Here are some tips and things to keep in mind when telling someone about your diagnosis:

Jimmy

My journey with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) began in the summer of 2020. My 17-year-old, two-sport athlete son Jimmy came to me complaining that he had pulled a muscle in his neck lifting weights for football and baseball. However, after many doctors’ appointments and tests, on June 12, 2020, in the middle of a pandemic, I received a call that his biopsy was indeed cancer, stage 3 advanced Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). I now had to tell my 17-year-old son that his worst fear was now a reality.

Elisa

I was diagnosed with stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) in April 2022 at 27 years old. After months of debilitating symptoms and a week-long hospital stay, I finally had an answer as to what was going on with my body. I was relieved to have an answer, but "cancer" was the last thing I expected. Ironically, after my diagnosis and first chemotherapy infusion, I felt better than I had in months. I didn't feel like I had cancer; the only reminders were a few enlarged lymph nodes and the mediport protruding from the right side of my chest. 

Rylie

My name is Rylie York, I am 20 years old and I'm currently a sophomore at Baylor University. I'm originally from Round Rock, Texas and I am a patient at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas. I was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 18 in the middle of my senior year of high school. I have relapsed twice since then and completed my bone marrow transplant this past August and September.

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.

Will

I am a cancer mom. I WAS a cancer mom. My youngest son, Will, was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) at age 19 in April of 2019. He, his dad, and I were beyond shocked when we heard the news that the swollen lymph nodes that came up out of the blue one March morning were indeed HL. We didn't really know anybody personally that had it. We didn't know what exactly all the words meant at that moment in time, but we knew it wasn't what we had planned for our youngest son.

Amy

I am a stage IV non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivor (NHL). The diagnosis came as a complete shock since I was a relatively healthy, active young adult working and enjoying life with family and friends. With a family history of breast cancer, I was advised to start having screening mammograms in my 20s. After a few clear screenings, I approached my 2018 screening and annual health visit to my primary care doctor's office with optimism. Within 48 hours, I received the dreaded call many women fear ― abnormal results.

AJ

On December 23, 2018, our lives changed forever. And sadly, it was just the beginning.

I was assigned to work a night shift an hour away from where I dropped my son, AJ, off at my sister’s. I got a call from her two hours later. She said AJ was not feeling or looking well. My sister, Kyesha, took him to the emergency room.

I rushed out, put my emergency lights on, and drove an hour to the hospital. When I got there and saw my son, I didn’t know what to think or say. Tears started rolling down my face. AJ looked almost dead; his color was so blue.

Treatment

Polycythemia Vera (PV) is a chronic disease: It's not curable, but it can usually be managed effectively for very long periods. The goal of therapy is to reduce the risk of thrombosis and to ease symptoms by lowering the number of extra blood cells. 

Many treatment options are designed to manage PV by lowering hematocrit levels below 45 percent for men and 42 percent for women. Careful medical supervision and therapy is important to keep the hematocrit concentration at normal levels. 

Infections

Cancer patients, especially those undergoing chemotherapy, are more likely to get infections because of their weakened immune systems. Cancer and certain cancer therapies can damage the immune system by reducing the number of infection-fighting white blood cells. Patients with a low white blood cell count are at a higher risk of developing infections, and these infections can be more serious and harder to treat. In severe cases, infections can lead to death.

Pain

A cancer diagnosis does not mean that you will have pain. Still, many people with cancer do have pain at some point. Good pain control is part of proper cancer care.

Managing pain may result in better treatment outcomes, so patients should talk to their healthcare team about their pain right away. Left untreated, pain can:

Dating, Sexuality & Intimacy

As a young adult you may be dating, in a relationship, or married. Cancer can make navigating romantic relationships complicated.

Dating can be intimidating no matter your situation. Remember, every date before your diagnosis probably did not go perfectly. You may have bad dates after your diagnosis as well. You may also meet incredible, new people.

Fundraise for LLS

Fundraise for LLS

Make an impact in the fight to cure cancer.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society® (LLS) is a global leader in the fight against cancer. LLS does more to advance science and support patients than any other cancer organization.

Join the fight against cancer by participating in one of our fundraising events: Light The Night, Team In Training, Big Climb, Visionaries of The Year, Student Visionaries of The Year, Ski, Scenic Shore, USA BMX, and more.