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Katie

I was diagnosed with Leukemia when I was 20 months old. I endured treatment for a little over 2 years until I was declared cancer free. Since I was diagnosed so young, I do not remember the treatment. However, I do remember the support from The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) as my family participated in the LLS’s Light The Night walk every year for the past 18 years!

Christian

In March 2017, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

This came as a huge shock. I immediately starting thinking about how this might impact my wife and our two young daughters' lives.

I had 2.5 cycles of ABVD and ISRT radiotherapy and have been in remission since August 2017. I couldn't have down it without the support of my family, friends, LLS.org support groups and even the ice hockey team I had to stop playing with, who sported violet stick and shin guard colored tape when playing the rest of the season.

Charity

In March of 2021, I was diagnosed officially with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) after a blood test and bone marrow biopsy. I had just turned 30 and had my first child in August 2020. My OB/GYN noticed that my platelet and white blood cell counts were way out of the normal range and referred me to a hematologist. I did not go, thinking it is just the stress of my body carrying a baby. After I had my son, I began feeling really bad. I had no energy and had the feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was wrong.

Jim

In September of 2017, my wife and I were in New Jersey with family celebrating Labor Day weekend when I passed out, fell and hit my head on a granite counter top. I received a nice shiner, and the next day we decided that it would be a good idea to go to the ER to have it looked at just in case. Weeks leading up to the fall, I was very tired and bruising pretty easy, but thought was worn down because I was helping my mom every chance I could after losing my dad that July.

Zariyah

Zariyah was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on May 9, 2016. She had just turned three years old the previous November. She was immediately admitted to Montefiore Children's Hospital when her blood test results came back as positive for leukemia. Her blood levels were three when they were supposed to be 11. They actually almost sent us home stating that whatever was causing her illness was viral. I requested that blood be taken and tested because I just knew it had to be more than just a cold or flu.

Diagnosis

While certain signs and symptoms may indicate that a person has PV, a series of tests are needed to confirm the diagnosis. It is important to have an accurate diagnosis, as it helps the doctor to: 

• Estimate how the disease will progress
• Determine the appropriate treatment

Evaluation of an individual with suspected PV should start with a detailed medical history and a physical examination.

The medical history should include information about the patient’s:

Diagnosis

An accurate diagnosis of the type of leukemia is important. The exact diagnosis helps the doctor estimate how the disease will progress and determine the appropriate treatment.

Diagnosing acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and the AML subtype usually involves a series of tests. Some of these tests may be repeated during and after therapy to measure the effects of treatment.

Jarvis

In the fall of 2019, life was very active for me and my 4-year-old son Jarvis. I was busy working 2-3 jobs, and Jarvis was busy just being a kid. Almost every day after school we would go to the park so he could run around and play. He was even starting to get interested in bikes and wanting to learn to ride when he started to mention his feet were hurting.

Gregg

I sailed through the first 56 years of my life...bachelor's degree, master's degree, 20 years as a physical education teacher, 15 years as a district administrator and school principal.  Along the way I founded AZ Disabled Sports, the Desert Challenge Games, SkiAble and other programming for individuals with physical disabilities. 

Lab and Imaging Tests

Doctors use several different lab and imaging tests to help detect (diagnose) a blood cancer (leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes or myeloproliferative disease). You may need to undergo additional tests to confirm your diagnosis.

Once your diagnosis is confirmed, your doctor may need to test you for certain genetic, cellular or molecular characteristics that will help him or her treat your specific diagnosis.

Your doctor considers these test results along with information from your physical examination and detailed medical history to:

Childhood ALL

Because of new and better therapies, cancer survival rates for children 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.

Understanding Different Types of Treatments

Treatment options vary for the different types of blood cancer. Your choices depend on your specific diagnosis, age, cytogenetic analysis (an examination of the chromosomes in your marrow, blood and lymph node cells), overall health and other factors.

Your treatment plan might include:

Chemotherapy and Drug Therapy

There are many different types of drugs used in the treatment of MDS.

Immunosuppressive Therapy. Drugs that suppress certain parts of the immune system can help some patients with lower-risk MDS. In some types of MDS, lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, may attack the bone marrow, causing it to stop making enough healthy blood cells. Immunosuppressive therapy lowers the body’s immune response to allow bone marrow stem cells to grow and make new blood cells. The main immunosuppressive therapy drugs used to treat MDS are:

Brescia

I am a Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) cancer survivor. I was diagnosed with cancer during my college years and took a semester off to begin chemotherapy and treatment. This was an incredibly scary and challenging time in my life. As any cancer survivor contemplates upon diagnosis, one of my initial thoughts was, “How long do I have?” Not knowing the answer to that question was one of my biggest fears as I felt like I hadn’t accomplished everything I wanted to in my lifetime. After several rounds of chemotherapy, losing most of my hair, and feeling more exhausted than I’ve ever felt in my lifetime .

FDA Approves New Targeted Treatment for CLL/SLL

Vaccine Therapy

Vaccines designed to treat cancer don't prevent the disease in the same way that conventional vaccine therapy prevents conditions such as measles or polio. The therapeutic cancer vaccines are designed to treat an already-present cancer and reduce its potential to grow.

Researchers are working on vaccines that could prevent cancer from recurring. Currently, there are no licensed blood cancer vaccines. Vaccines for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma are still in development and available only in clinical trials.

Joey

Joey Renick is a three-time acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survivor. He was first diagnosed at the age of 3, then 18, and again at 22. Joey has received years of chemotherapy, radiation, and a bone marrow transplant. Since receiving his bone marrow transplant in June 2016, Joey has married his wife Caylee, completed nursing school, began and continues to work as a bone marrow transplant nurse, and will be a dad soon.

Monica

As a First Connection® volunteer with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) for almost two years, I have had the opportunity to connect with patients and survivors to share their stories and experiences while battling this deadly illness. Every day I come across so many touching and courageous stories that inspire me to do more and more to support this cause.

Sydney

My grandfather, Michael, passed away from leukemia in 1991. While I never had the pleasure of meeting him, I have always considered him to be my guardian angel. My grandmother and best friend, Patrice, has been a loyal advocate, supporter, and donor to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) ever since his passing. Additionally, she served as vice president for two years and president of LLS for four years. We love how committed LLS is to the research and care of those with blood cancer.

Monica

Monica was learning how to be a new mom to a six-month-old baby when her night sweats got worse and worse. She also seemed to have a cough that would not go away. It turns out that her symptoms were not due to the daycare bugs her daughter brought home. In April 2017, she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Her clinical care team discovered a malignant 5 inch mass in her chest near her heart.

Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-Cell Therapy

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NHL Staging

Once your doctor confirms an NHL diagnosis, he or she will determine the extent of your disease's progression by staging. Staging helps your doctor predict the disease's progression and develop a treatment plan.

Imaging Tests

Your doctor conducts one or more imaging tests along with a physical exam, to evaluate:

Janiyah

Our beautiful Janiyah was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at 14 months old.  Some will say by chance or luck, others say by the grace of God. Thirteen months earlier, Janiyah was diagnosed with hemoglobin C disease; simply defined as chronic anemia.

Diagnosis

An accurate diagnosis is one of the most important aspects of a person’s care. Obtaining a precise diagnosis will help the doctor

• Determine the MDS subtype 
• Estimate how the disease will progress
• Determine the most appropriate treatment

Since MDS can be a difficult disease to diagnose, you may want to get a second medical opinion by an experienced hematopathologist before you begin treatment.

Gil

I was sitting alone in a stark, clean examination room on September 16, 2021, at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Brookline, Massachusetts when my oncologist walked in. I called my spouse and son on my cell phone so they could hear the results.