My name is Janie, and I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) almost one year ago at 37 years old. I am married with two children and am so happy to be alive today. My story is unique, as is everyone’s; however, mine is special because my sister ended up being my 10/10 identical match, and she saved my life via transplant.
I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in July 2024 at age 28.
I was working at a veterinary clinic when I started noticing splotches appearing on my skin. I thought it was maybe a case of ringworm I had contracted from one of the animal patients. I was also losing weight and suffering from intense dizzy spells daily.
I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) on April 13, 1995, at Arlington Hospital (now VHC Health) and was hospitalized there for 32 days for chemotherapy. I received a second round of chemotherapy (high-dose) at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital a few weeks later. Afterward, I received an autologous stem cell transplant at Sloan Kettering.
I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) when I was 18 years old the summer before I was supposed to start college. Instead, I spent six months receiving treatment on a clinical trial at CHOP. I was fortunate to have access to outstanding, cutting-edge cancer care and have a good outcome. This experience inspired me to pursue a career in medicine.
In 2019, at 32, several symptoms culminated and, in hindsight, were red flags to the disease progression of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). I was less than 90 days into a new job in residential construction.
My husband, Frank, was a 40-year-old, hard-working family man and the sole provider for me and our two children when his world was turned upside down by a routine blood test showing he had acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This was a nightmare for all.
In 2017, our world turned upside down when my father, Greg, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The only chance to save his life was a bone marrow transplant. Both of my uncles were tested, but neither was a match. Praying for a match, my father was placed on the donor match list.
My children and I lost their mother and my wife in March 2008, six WEEKS after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). She was 41 years old. Our children were teenagers. There are no words to describe the pain and grief the three of us went through, a pain that I know we share with others who have lost a loved one through ANY form of cancer.
I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in December 2019. After three days of chemo, which was discontinued due to bleeding in my lungs, I spent three weeks in the hospital finding out I had a life-threatening, invasive fungal sinusitis that they could not treat with medications or surgery. The doctors sent me home to hospice.
In January 2018, after months of seeking answers and enduring worsening symptoms, I was finally diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The road to this diagnosis wasn’t easy ― it took three hospital transfers, three bone marrow biopsies, and the loss of my mobility before doctors could pinpoint the cause of my pain.