Search Results
Nora
Nora was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on August 20, 2018. This is the day our lives were turned upside down and forever changed. Nora was about three weeks away from her second birthday, and we were in utter shock that she would now be fighting an unfathomable battle. After all, this was Nora, our go-hard, go-fast, ray of sunshine. Never did we imagine anything could get her down. But yet, here we were.
Russ
(As told by Russ Parker’s wife Karen A. Parker) In the fall of 2004, Russ was looking forward to a surfing trip to Fiji with his son Rusty and a group of good friends. He was a real estate developer, surfer, soccer coach, swimmer and runner.
Cayden
In April 2020, three-year-old Cayden began experiencing leg pain and developed an unusual limp that alarmed his mother, Courtney. Soon, the pain progressed to a stiff neck and loss of appetite. Just two weeks later, after multiple tests and doctor appointments, Courtney and her husband would hear the words that every parent fears, "your child has cancer". Cayden was diagnosed with a high-risk form of blood cancer, Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
Heather
My name is Heather and I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) +FLT3/ITD on December 14th, 2017. That morning I noticed I was extremely pale and I had large bruises over my body. My doctor ran blood work STAT and within an hour I knew my platelets were below 20 and I needed to rush to the ER. I was pretty near death at that time. I was in Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC), which has a pretty high mortality rate.
Childhood AML
Childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)Because of new and better therapies, cancer survival rates for children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have improved dramatically during the last several decades. Scientists continue to search for the causes of childhood leukemia so they can develop better treatments with less toxic side effects.
Find statistics for Childhood AML and other blood cancers.
Melissa
We really want to be someone else’s story of hope.
My husband, Thomas, was diagnosed in February 2022 with blood cancer, specifically, multiple myeloma (MM). He was in the hospital in Mallorca, Spain, where we live, for 16 days, getting dialysis and chemotherapy. After that initial stay, he was discharged but continued to go to the hospital three days a week for four months until his kidneys started working on their own again.
A. Timothy Lunsford-Stevens JD
In 1970, I was playing baseball in high school as a freshman, playing second base. A bully made a hit and ran from first to second base, tackling me. I got into a fight with him because of the pain I was feeling in my left hand. After the fight, I needed to go to the hospital. In setting my broken hand, they also did a blood test. The results showed why my hand was so fragile; I had acute myeloid leukemia (AML). I had chemotherapy but no radiation or other treatment. I lived in Georgia and went to MD Anderson in Houston for chemotherapy.
Dana
I was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in January 2018. I was lucky enough to get into City of Hope which is about 25 minutes from my house. I received all my treatment there. The first treatment was R-CHOP chemotherapy which required me to be in the hospital three to five days every three weeks for six months. I relapsed after six months and did an autologous bone marrow transplant in March of 2019. After about eight months, I relapsed again and prepared for an unrelated donor transplant.
Miranda
A little over a year ago, I finished a treatment that saved my life and gave me purpose. In October 2016, I was diagnosed with stage IV of Hodgkin lymphoma and was fortunate enough to receive medical care that allowed me to conquer my cancer journey.
Callie
In January 2016, I was diagnosed with stage II Hodgkin lymphoma. I was four months pregnant at the time, and it was decided to carry to term because this type of blood cancer is a slower spreading cancer.
In May 2016, I had a healthy boy and 10 days later began my first of many chemo treatments. The following October I had my last treatment and I was excited to get back to "normal" life.
Pilar
My name is Pilar, and I am 34 years old. I used to work for the workforce board of Philadelphia, working with youth, until I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) back in October 2020. It has been a hard battle, but I am positive and blessed to have the support of my family and friends. Additionally, I was very fortunate my sister, Marcela, was a match to be my donor.
Jamaal
Jamaal Simmons had non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL). He was such a brave person. He worked at Publix supermarket and he went to Clark Atlanta University. He was about to graduate from college when he passed away.
It is now 14 years since he's been gone. But I still donate and collect donations and I've been doing this for many years. I will keep on doing it to help fight this blood cancer.
- Jamaal's mom, Sharon Williams.
Henry
On April 6, 2021, we heard for the first time, “We think it's leukemia.” As I watched my boy jumping on the neighbor's bounce house enjoying the first warm spring afternoon, my mind went to one simple question, “Why him?” Up until that point, our then three-year-old, Henry, had been the happiest and healthiest toddler.
Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia
Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML)- Is an uncommon blood cancer that have overlapping features of two other types of blood cancers.
Michele
The news came that I had been dreading after three days of being hospitalized. Finally, they would tell me my diagnosis. Why my blood counts were critically low. Why the pain in my right leg was excruciating. Why morphine didn’t touch that pain. Since arriving at the hospital, my inner dialogue was on repeat, “What’s wrong with me? Somebody please just tell me everything is going to be fine."
CALEB
November 2017, my life changed forever when I was diagnosed with a fatal form of blood cancer called acute myeloid leukemia (AML). I had no idea what it meant. All I knew is that I woke up one day, like any other, and this time I woke up with a cancer that was going to kill me in a few months. The hardest part of that day was having to tell my Mother that her son has cancer. But after a lot of tears she said to me “Caleb, we’ve got this.” And I just remember that word “we” so vividly. I remember thinking I’m not in this alone. This is a WE thing!
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy uses your own immune system to fight cancer. There are several types of immunotherapies, and each works to help the immune system in a different way. Some boost your body’s immune system. Others train your immune system to attack specific cancer cells.
Immunotherapies being used or studied to treat blood cancer include:
Holly
In 2016, I joined The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Tennessee Chapter as a supportive member of Team Addie. I had friends who became team members the previous year, walking in Nashville’s Light The Night Walk (LTN), and they encouraged me to get involved in the cause with LLS and LTN. Nashville is a city that my friends and I have gained so much love for through the years. I must admit I was hesitant to join at first because blood cancer specifically hadn’t affected my life or the people in it.
Kevin
In 2011, I was given two months to live after I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
I had to stay at the Bone Marrow Transplant Center at the Salt Lake City Hospital for a very long time and undergo a very hard fight.
My aortic valve failed this year from the chemo, but I had open heart surgery in May 2017 and I am grateful to be alive!
I live in honor to all that passed in our family and those who are still fighting blood cancer.
Steven
I have a rare blood cancer. It is Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM), a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), but some doctors say it has the same characteristics as POEMS syndrome.
I have very painful neuropathy, and it affects my legs and feet to the point that some days I cannot walk.
I have a spinal cord stimulator with the battery implanted in my back.
I am thankful to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) for my grants and all the other assistance, especially through this COVID pandemic.
Judy
I was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) on April 6, 1987, just four months after my 30th birthday.
My beautiful daughter had turned three in February. I loved being a mom, and a teacher. I was extremely active as many young parents are and was looking forward to spending more time outside "playing" as the weather improved in the great Canadian north. Life was good.
Kristy
On May 24, 2020, at 23 years old, I started getting dizzy out of nowhere. I thought maybe I needed to eat and sleep better, but it got worse. I went to the ER, and they said I was anemic and sent me home. I bought a bunch of food that’s supposed to help anemia, but I kept getting worse, to the point where I couldn’t get up to eat. I would throw up and get dizzy and almost pass out. I lost color, and my lips turned pale. I lost weight, and I pretty much looked like a zombie. Then one day I couldn’t get up, and I sat in the same spot for hours.