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Prognostic Factors

Prognosis is the likely outcome of a disease along with the chance of recovery or recurrence. Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) cases are generally classified into the three subgroups described below.

Lilly

Treatment

On average, individuals with essential thrombocythemia (ET) have a normal life expectancy if they are properly monitored and treated. It's important that your doctor is experienced in treating myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) or works in consultation with a hematologist oncologist who has experience treating MPN patients.

Chancez

Hey, my name is Chancez (ironically, I was blessed with many chances last year). I became a part of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) community last year and was provided financial support. I was also presented with love, care, and daily reminders of all the support that was available to me to get me through such a rough period in my life. A friend of mine suggested that I share my story to help others in our community, especially young adults who are in the same predicament I was once in.

Jonathan

I was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on July 26, 2019, and even without the involvement of a pandemic, I imagine that’s reason enough to believe that to me 2018 seems like a lifetime ago. Still, I can remember it well enough: A wide-eyed younger version of me arrived at college orientation, somehow simultaneously thrilled to begin a new chapter of his life and paralyzingly terrified of the imminent unknown.

Elisa

I was diagnosed with stage IV Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) in April 2022 at 27 years old. After months of debilitating symptoms and a week-long hospital stay, I finally had an answer as to what was going on with my body. I was relieved to have an answer, but "cancer" was the last thing I expected. Ironically, after my diagnosis and first chemotherapy infusion, I felt better than I had in months. I didn't feel like I had cancer; the only reminders were a few enlarged lymph nodes and the mediport protruding from the right side of my chest. 

Rylie

My name is Rylie York, I am 20 years old and I'm currently a sophomore at Baylor University. I'm originally from Round Rock, Texas and I am a patient at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, Texas. I was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 18 in the middle of my senior year of high school. I have relapsed twice since then and completed my bone marrow transplant this past August and September.

Will

I am a cancer mom. I WAS a cancer mom. My youngest son, Will, was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) at age 19 in April of 2019. He, his dad, and I were beyond shocked when we heard the news that the swollen lymph nodes that came up out of the blue one March morning were indeed HL. We didn't really know anybody personally that had it. We didn't know what exactly all the words meant at that moment in time, but we knew it wasn't what we had planned for our youngest son.

Treatment

It's important that your doctor is experienced in treating patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or has access to an AML specialist.

Doctors use several types of treatment for adults with AML, some at different stages. Click on the links below to read more about each type of treatment.

Mike

Jeannine

I got started with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) when our good friend, Tim Mauro, ran for Man of the Year and my husband, Larry, was his “campaign manager.” Tim’s father-in law, Bob, was battling non Hodgkin lymphoma. Watching them battle with him and seeing everything they did to help was such an inspiration, and seeing how many people were bonded together, raising money to find a cure, was amazing.

Madeline

My daughter is Madeline Conley.  On January 7, 2014, three days after her 15th birthday,  she was diagnosed with leukemia (AML/MDS).  She was a high school cheerleader and cheer coach who was basically ripped out of her normal active life and immediately admitted to the hospital, where she spent the next five months. It was the scariest thing we've ever been through.

Rohan

I am an acute myeloid leukemia (AML) survivor. I am now 10 months post-transplant and feeling stronger every day.I was born and raised in the Bay Area to South African Indian parents. I hold degrees from UC Berkeley and USC. I have built my career around advocating for equity in tech and marketing services that uplift underrepresented communities.

Doug

I have always been a builder. Professionally, I am an architect.  ​You could say that I’ve spent my life building spaces where people could grow. I never imagined, however, that I would someday have to rebuild my own. In February 2015, after experiencing months of excruciating and debilitating back pain that doctors mistakenly attributed to deteriorating lower lumbar discs, I had an MRI that revealed multiple vertebral compressed fractures.

Edmund

U.S. veterans’ sacrifices can occur on the battlefield … or much later.

Houseboys sprayed Agent Orange on weeds around the Quonset huts of Edmund Montefusco and his fellow soldiers in Korea in the early 70s, but it was decades before Edmund’s rare, slow-growing hairy cell leukemia made itself known.

Elizabeth

On November 8, 2021, I was diagnosed with stage III multiple myeloma (MM), an incurable cancer. Prior to being diagnosed, I thought I was a healthy young woman and was just living life with my children. I would have different pains throughout my body, but I didn't think much about it and would ignore them for the most part. The pains throughout my body were getting more and more frequent, so I went to the ER in October 2021 because I was in pain and could not eat, they said I was possibly having acid reflux and gave me a prescription for nausea.

Louise

During the last week of July 2019, Louise, then-two-and-a-half-year-old, developed unusual red dots on her chest and some gnarly, yet explainable, bruises all over her body. We chalked the rash up to wearing an unwashed shirt and the bruises to being an extremely active two-year-old. Then, after her gums bled one afternoon, we hopped on Google and became increasingly concerned with the search results. However, Louise wasn’t acting “sick,” so her parents ignored Dr. Google’s diagnosis.

Dating, Sexuality & Intimacy

As a young adult you may be dating, in a relationship, or married. Cancer can make navigating romantic relationships complicated.

Dating can be intimidating no matter your situation. Remember, every date before your diagnosis probably did not go perfectly. You may have bad dates after your diagnosis as well. You may also meet incredible, new people.

Amanda

I am now a two-time acute myeloid leukemia (AML) survivor. When I was diagnosed with AML, it was an absolute complete shock. At the time of my diagnosis, I was a stay-at-home mom to my then three-year-old son. In a matter of a few hours and three words, “You have cancer,” my life completely turned upside down.

Bryon

In 2017, during a pickup basketball game at the local gym, Bryon Daily was beginning to feel his age, playing against 20-year-olds. A former college track athlete in his early 50s, this fatigue felt different. He also fractured his finger during a routine pass in the game.     Bryon’s primary doctor at Kaiser ordered labs including blood and urine, that showed impairment in his protein levels and referred him to a urologist then a hematologist.

Phil

My sweet and wild 3-year-old son, Phil, was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) in the midst of the holidays in 2019 on December 27. Phil began treatment right away, following a 2½-year treatment protocol for his leukemia type and risk level. With every hospital visit, chemotherapy infusion, medication to take, procedures in the OR, or “job” he was told to do, Phil smiled, he laughed, and he cooperated (with a little encouragement and bribery of course!). There really was something so special about him.

Kayleen

On March 8, 2012, our world changed forever.

I was at work when I got the call from my husband that I was to meet him and Kayleen at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis.  He said they found markers for leukemia in her blood work after testing for mononucleosis.  Our oncologist was optimistic saying it was still “highly curable.” 

Katie

Only a couple weeks into my first year of my graduate program, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with FLT3 mutation. I was only 21 years old and my entire world got flipped upside down. My whole life changed and I was about 1,000 miles from home.

Austin

Four were spoken that day. Four crushing, breathtaking words, “Your son has cancer.” My world, my life, and my dreams for my son’s future suddenly halted while the rest of the world kept going on around us on May 14, 2011. Only days before, I was deciding what theme to have for his third birthday party and what outfit he would wear for his pictures. Days later, my husband and I were signing consents for the specific protocol of poison that would be pumped into Austin and having to digest the laundry list of possible side effects.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of potent drugs or chemicals, often in combinations or intervals, to kill or damage cancer cells in the body. Chemotherapy drugs are often called anticancer agents. The drugs must be toxic enough to kill leukemic cells, which is why chemotherapy can be hard on your body; the drugs' toxicity can harm your healthy cells as well. However, successful chemotherapy depends on the fact that cancerous cells are more sensitive to the chemicals in the drug than normal cells are.