Search Results
Joseph
Feb 10, 2012 has forever changed our lives. Joseph was 6 years old and in his fifth month of kindergarten. Joe's journey actually began many months prior. Shortly after starting kindergarten there were ear infections, fevers, belly pain, joint swelling and bone pain. All this from a child who was always very healthy. Feb 10, 2012, the definitive diagnosis of pre-b cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was echoing through my head. Joe was admitted to the hospital immediately and taken to the pediatric hematology/oncology floor.
Sarah
My name is Sarah and I am a six-year Hodgkin’s lymphoma survivor. I’m extremely honored to not only be in attendance today but to also share my story. My world came crashing down July 2013. Like so many other patients, I had been diagnosed with frequent upper respiratory infections, asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and pleurisy prior to my diagnosis. I just so happened to discover a “swollen” area on my left collar bone one morning at work. It didn’t hurt, and it was kind of soft. It caught me off guard, so I made an appointment with my PCP.
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.
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.
Cindy
Our church choir had put on a big Easter program in 2002, lots of practices and multiple performances. After the fact, several, including me, came down with an upper respiratory infection. All my friends got better, but I didn’t. Then I started having low energy to the point that I couldn’t do my daily workouts. Next came the appearance of big, ugly bruises on my legs. At that point, I thought I was anemic. When I called to get a doctor’s appointment, the only opening was with his nurse practitioner.
Avery
I am writing as a parent of a cancer survivor. My daughter, Avery Smith, who is now 8 years old, was diagnosed at age 3½ with leukemia. In 2016, our then 3-year-old daughter Avery was complaining of muscle aches, backaches, and for a solid week was running a pretty high fever. We took her to the doctor, and after a few visits, they weren’t really sure what was going on. After some bloodwork, our pediatrician called us and said Avery had some very concerning numbers.
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.
Hadley
My granddaughter Hadley was three years old when she suddenly started limping in pain and was unable to bear weight on her right leg. Forty-eight hours and three medical appointments later, her bloodwork showed acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). It was a nightmare that came out of nowhere.
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.
Nina
Back in March 2015, my then 26-year-old daughter was not feeling well. She had severe abdominal pain, overwhelming fatigue, night sweats, a low-grade fever, a headache, and appeared to be losing weight. At the time, my daughter was working as a speech language pathologist in a hospital in Maryland. She was misdiagnosed by an ER droctor and two months later, after her primary care doctor ordered an ultrasound, we found that she had innumerable tumors in her lungs and spleen. We saw an oncologist the next day who ordered more blood work and a PET scan, as well as a bon
Rachel
My name is Rachel Iruegas, and on June 4, 2019, I heard the dreaded words that no one ever wants to hear: “you have cancer.” I was diagnosed with stage 2B Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). In that moment, my mind went blank and my body numb. I honestly do not remember much of what my oncologist said after that. I knew I was in the room with her, surrounded by my family, but my body wanted to be somewhere else – anywhere else but there. I knew in that moment that my life was going to completely change, and I had no way of stopping that.
Sara
Seeing Roses
Jane
In October 2015, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). After growing up never getting sick, I had cancer. It was incredibly difficult to comprehend at the age of 13 that I was about to endure something most people won’t experience in a lifetime. I went through four rounds of chemotherapy and was in remission in January of 2016. Once you’re in remission, you believe that that’s the end. You’ll have a few check-ups here and there, but in your head, you envision no more cancer.
Vera
Vera was diagnosed on July 23, 2022. Her symptoms started as typical flu-like, lethargic, loss of appetite, and a fever. After three days of a fever and no one in the house showing symptoms, we took her to the pediatrician and were told she likely had a virus and to return in a week or so if symptoms didn’t subside. Over the next three days, her symptoms worsened (pale skin, a fever of 101 with Tylenol, bruises, and no appetite), and we took her to a medical professional every day, including the ER.
Clementina
For the longest time, I sat on the edge of my bed, hoping that one day I would have the gift of being an older sister to a darling little boy. I wished for him every time I saw a shooting star or when the clock struck 11:11 - I hoped for Max.
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.
Rick
Rick Ostroff and his family have a legacy of philanthropy with a heartfelt connection to a disease he never had. During the first three years of his life, he spent time on the leukemia floor of Children’s Hospital in Boston but eventually was found to have the critical illness of gamma globulin anemia rather than then-fatal leukemia.
Kari
I am writing this in 2022, but I never would have believed when acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) struck my daughter in 2013, that it would feel like we were back at step 1.
Mara
I was in my second to last year of nursing school and just over one year into my marriage when the headaches became too much to bear. I was 21. I was tired all of the time, but I was working in a busy ER and going to class when I wasn't at work. I had lost some weight, but I had been exercising more and getting a lot while working in the ER. I had a cough, but they tell you that you'll be sick a lot when you're in nursing school. Unfortunately, I happened to touch my neck one day while studying with classmates for a big exam. There was a lump there that I had never felt before.
Stephanie and Amy
Stephanie: My journey with blood cancer began long before my diagnosis. In 2006, my world was shattered when my mom, just 52 years old, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). She was quickly isolated in a specialized hospital, enduring grueling rounds of chemotherapy. I was about to start nursing school and desperately tried to educate myself on her illness, knowing deep down that the prognosis was grim. They mentioned a bone marrow transplant, but she never made it that far. A fungal pneumonia took her from us in December 2006.
Amy
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. By the end of the week, I called our pediatrician for an appointment. William had an exam and bloodwork done. He was also given antibiotics.
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.
Matt
I’ve lived a mostly normal 27 years on this earth. A life filled with wonderful academics, Division 1 athletics (pole vault), financial internships, and fantastic sales roles at companies I really enjoyed.
However, my life changed drastically on February 28th, 2023.
In the middle of the night on that Tuesday, I was woken up by a call from an unknown number. I let it ring through… maybe it was spam? Then they called again.
Don
Like so many individuals diagnosed with blood cancer, I had zero thought that I might be ill, much less with a disease that could take my life.
I had signs and symptoms that something wasn’t quite right in my body, annoying things like shortness of breath, lightheadedness, and fatigue. However, nothing registered in my head until after my diagnosis.
It’s September 2005, and I am pretty much invincible, bulletproof! I could, in fact, leap tall buildings in a single bound! Yes, in my mind I was Superman!