Search Results

Organizing Medical Records

Keeping a file with all your medical records in one place is a good idea, especially if you're seeing more than one doctor or seeking a second opinion.

Get copies of lab reports from your healthcare providers and keep them in a file folder, a three-ring binder or any other system that works best for you. Organize test reports by date (chronological) so they're easy to find. By keeping organized records, you'll be able to:

Follow-Up Care

Those who have been treated for MDS are encouraged to:

Long-Term and Late Effects of Treatment

While treatments for ALL have led to increased survival rates, some may cause significant long-term or late effects. Long-term effects of cancer treatment are medical problems that last for months or years after treatment ends. Late effects are medical problems that do not appear until years, or even possibly decades, after treatment ends.

The long-term and late effects of childhood ALL treatment can include:

Carol

I traveled with my friends Karen and Beth to Death Valley in February 2020 for a cycling trip where, despite Beth’s fitness and the amount of cycling we’d done, she became short of breath on the steep climbs. She would stop and catch her breath, then continue cycling. This wasn’t normal behavior, but Beth shrugged it off. “We all have good and bad days on the bicycle,” she said. On our last day of cycling, we were planning another hilly route. “You guys go ahead.

Ph-Positive ALL Therapy

In addition to chemotherapy combinations, children with Philadelphia chromosomepositive (Ph+) ALL and Philadelphia chromosome-like (Ph-like) ALL are also given a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) medication.

Tyrosine kinases are enzymes that are a part of many cell functions including cell signaling, growth and division. These enzymes may become too active in patients with an ALL subtype called Philadelphia chromosome-positive ALL (Ph+ ALL).

Jamie

After he was diagnosed with blood cancer in 2013, Jamie was told by doctors that he’d never walk again, let alone ride a bike. Despite those predictions, he finished a 540-mile ride in June 2019 to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).

Seth

It was in my sophomore year at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs right around March 2021 when I first discovered the lump in my neck. I was simply doing homework at my desk, and my hand unconsciously brushed against my neck. I stopped and started to feel the unusual lump in my neck.

Soon after that, the tests started.

Jane

In 2008, I retired from teaching art, mostly because I was feeling tired all the time and didn’t want the program I was running to suffer because I couldn’t keep up. I figured it was old age. I was enjoying my first full year of retirement when I woke up with a backache. After two months of tests, in July 2010, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a treatable but not yet curable blood cancer in the plasma cells of the bone marrow. 

Zachary

Two months after we were married, my husband was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in July 2021. I was 33 weeks pregnant with our first baby when he was admitted to St. Louis University Hospital for the next month of induction treatment. Prior to diagnosis, Zach had been experiencing fatigue and palpitations and would become winded just walking up our flight of stairs. We thought he was having residual effects from some prior illnesses that he was hospitalized for in April and May. We know now that those instances were the beginning of his immune system starting to fail.

Madeline

I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in June of 2022. I was feeling fine and went for a routine physical where it was discovered that my white blood cell count was very low. This was the beginning of my nightmare. I was slotted to give my husband my kidney before I was diagnosed and had to quickly find another donor. We did and he got his transplant and is doing well. I was hospitalized for 8 weeks where I received very aggressive induction chemo that left me malnourished and on death’s doorstep.

Catherine

In March 2014, I woke up at my normal time to get ready for work. I could barely move - I was so ill and every part of my body hurt. I didn't’t think anything of being sick since I had started to feel ill on Sunday and it was just getting worse. I figured that I would stay home sick and be back to work the next day.

Tammy

In February 2023, I developed a cough that would not go away. I went to the doctor twice. Both times I was told it was “long COVID,” and it would eventually go away. I continued with my life as normal and even went on a week-long trip to New York in April where I did a live Peloton Cycle class to celebrate my 400th ride (a milestone and dream come true for me). By the time I got home from New York, I was in bad shape. The cough had progressed, and daily activities were difficult.

Samuel

On June 21, 2019, my sweet, goofy, little boy, Samuel, turned 3 years old, and we had a big celebration. We threw Samuel a beautiful birthday party surrounded by family and friends at a local farm. The kids played, fed the farm animals, went on pony and tractor rides, and ate pizza and cake. It was a day Samuel still remembers and talks about. He has always been so bright, even as a baby, saying words like “tickle” at 10 months old.

Chemotherapy and Drug Therapy

Chemotherapy drugs kill fast-growing cells throughout the body, including both cancer cells and normal, healthy cells. The damage to normal, healthy cells can cause side effects. Chemotherapy is typically given in cycles. Each cycle is made up of a certain number of days of treatment, followed by a certain number of days of rest. 

Jonathan

Life is such a blessing. Sometimes we think that there’s no way out, we limit ourselves, or we simply think to give up. Truth is, like we say in my family, “Solo hay que estar vivo para ver cosa,” or “You only have to be alive to witness things.”

My parents are first-generation immigrants from the Dominican Republic. I am a cancer survivor.

Jonathan

This story is memory of my late fiancé, Jonathan Bentley, who passed away from acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) at the age of 33 after a week-long battle. Jon was a truly amazing person; the type that you wish everyone could meet once in their lifetime. Although he is now gone, I wish to honor his beautiful spirit by sharing a little bit about him.

Daron

My cancer journey started back in 2021 during COVID. I worked in EMS as a paramedic. I started noticing that I was losing weight, coughing up blood, hurting continuously, losing my vision, and sleeping 16 hours a day or more while working in the medical field. I knew I was in grave danger. After several months of enduring the symptoms, I went to my primary doctor and was turned away due to them thinking it was TB. I reached out to my employer and was able to be seen by the health department. They ordered an X-ray that showed a very large mass in my chest.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the main treatment for ALL. The phases of treatment include the following:

The first phase of chemotherapy is called “induction therapy.” Induction therapy

CML Phases and Prognostic Factors

CML has three phases. The phase of your chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) plays a large part in determining the type of treatment you'll receive. Doctors use diagnostic tests to determine the phase of CML. Determining the CML phase is based primarily on the number of immature white blood cells (blasts) in the patient’s blood and bone marrow. 

Chronic Phase. Most patients are diagnosed with CML in the with chronic phase of the disease.

​People with chronic phase CML:

Treatment Outcomes

Some types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) are curable. Some people with other types of NHL are able to keep their disease under control and live good-quality lives with medical treatment.

Click here to access NHL survival statistics.

Tricia

My name is Tricia, and I am a two-time cancer survivor. In 2017, at the age of 27, I got a positive pregnancy test. We were elated! We already had a three-year-old daughter and couldn't wait to expand our family. I made an appointment with my OB-GYN to confirm the pregnancy and get a due date when she found a lump on my thyroid. I was constantly assured it would be nothing. Unfortunately, after a biopsy, it was confirmed to be thyroid cancer. I underwent surgery to remove half of my thyroid that had the tumor. It was very scary going under the knife since I was pregnant at the time.

Be Your Child’s Advocate

Parents may need to educate other family members, friends, school personnel and healthcare providers about long-term and late effects. Here are some steps parents can take:

Sexual Health and Intimacy

These webpages cover a range of sensitive topics related to intercourse, sexual health, intimacy and cancer. Although not always discussed, sexual health and intimacy are an important part of your wellbeing, even after a cancer diagnosis. Please note: If you have experienced any type of sexual trauma, we recommend that you seek support and help from a trusted healthcare professional before reading further.

Barbara

At age 60, I stopped working as a full-time physical therapist and started working PRN at two different facilities. My reasoning was I could help my elderly but healthy parents when needed and help out with my grandkids. Everything was going great until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. I was laid off from both jobs. My father was very afraid of COVID-19 and wouldn’t let my mom leave the house, so I started doing all of their shopping. I had been fatigued for months but attributed this to work or being out of shape.

Miah

I am 28 years old and was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) when I was 27. I am a mother of two (a 5-year-old boy and a 7-year-old daughter). I am a licensed esthetician in Chicago and have run my own beauty business for six years.