My husband, Justin, was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in June 2021. At the time, he was a healthy, energetic, 33-year-old dad of three. He just completed all treatment in January 2024. We received some funds from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) as well as information and inspiration.
I know the pain of being told that you have cancer twice, but I also know the joy of being told that you have beaten cancer twice. I write this message to bring encouragement and to instill a fight in people who have had a relapse of cancer. Being told once that you have this disease is already heartbreaking, but to be told that it came back and you will need chemo again is soul-crushing.
My symptoms became pretty intense in December 2017. I was 21 at the time and living a healthy and active lifestyle, but my symptoms were starting to interfere with my quality of life. I was experiencing a cough, fatigue, unexplained weight loss, and pretty intense back pain, along with several swollen lymph nodes primarily on the left side of my collarbone.
Florida is my happy place. It's where I've vacationed for over three decades. And when my husband and I had kids, it became our family's happy place too. Schedules are forbidden on vacation. We tell time by the sun as we sit on the beach with our feet in the sand, watching the tide roll in and out.
My story starts on December 1st, 2016. I had just buried my baby brother 2 weeks before. Now I’m sitting in my oncologist's office with my mom. When the doctor said I had cancer and it’s called multiple myeloma (MM), I was completely stunned. I never heard of multiple myeloma. And of course, I get cancer that there’s no cure.
In my junior year of college, I felt so sick that I would sleep through online classes, throwing up every couple of days. I thought I was just stressed and not sleeping enough at night. However, a month later, a relentless cough took over. It was nonstop ― cough after cough and nap after nap.
In April 2023, I started to notice that I was having trouble breathing. I was a perfectly healthy 34-year-old woman who did kickboxing three times a week and was very physically active. I ended up going to a doctor who, for three months, misdiagnosed me with asthma and acid reflux. After about three visits to his office, I was crying to him, begging to be referred to a specialist.
Nevaeh was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML+MLLr)+CNS chloromas on February 2, 2022, at 12 months old. Nevaeh first showed symptoms of high fevers, no appetite, and little to no energy. After a trip to the ER, a few tests, and x-rays, I was told Nevaeh had COVID and pneumonia. She was discharged with instructions to go back if her symptoms worsened.
In December 2015, our son, William, started complaining of leg/knee pain. William had always been an active boy, so we figured that he must have just hurt himself doing something physical. After a few days of the pain continuing, my husband thought that maybe it was “growing pains.” We continued to keep an eye on it but weren’t too concerned at this point.
Spring Break of my second year of medical school marked the beginning of an unexpected chapter in my life. What I had initially brushed off as the flu led me to the emergency room, only to discover that I had acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL).