Search Results

Kent

When Noah was born in 2005, we were surprised when the doctor told us he had Down syndrome.  Soon after, we were informed about all of the things that Noah wouldn’t or couldn’t do in his lifetime.  We were also given a laundry list of medical problems that he could potentially have.  Two months after he was born, Noah went into heart failure and had open heart surgery to correct four holes in his heart.  This was a tough time but boy did we have more to come and didn’t know it.  He has since had multiple surgeries, tests, studies, etc.  We were told that Noa

Annette

I had been feeling unwell for quite a while. I would come home from work and go to bed right after dinner. I would sleep for hours and still be fatigued. When we had afternoon meetings, I would fall asleep. My husband and I kept thinking it was my very stressful job. I was on airplanes three times a week and would be traveling all over the country. I wasn’t eating or sleeping well. I finally decided to take early retirement. I still did not feel well even after being retired. I finally got to the point where I was so sick, I told my husband to take me to the emergency room.

Stem Cell Transplantation with High-Dose Chemotherapy

High-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation are important parts of treatment plans for eligible, recently diagnosed myeloma patients. 

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.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA)

The Affordable Care Act’s Patient Protections

The Affordable Care Act requires health insurance plans sold through www.healthcare.gov and its state-based marketplaces to comply with a number of requirements. Many of these – including the ones described below – are meant to ensure that patients have access to meaningful health insurance coverage. It’s important to be aware that some health plans, available today through non-governmental sites, may not include these patient protections.

Kaitlin

I moved to Chicago in May 2022. I had recently finished my joint PhD in Social Work and Psychology from the University of Michigan and was offered a job as a People Analytics Researcher at Google. I loved the city and enjoyed frequent runs and cycling rides along Lake Shore Drive. In mid-July, I started noticing some symptoms that concerned me ― difficulty breathing when I was exercising, intense chest and back pain, spider veins on my chest, puffiness in my face, and fatigue.

Treatment

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

Types of ALL Treatment

Doctors use several types of approaches and treatment combinations for ALL:

Emmanuel "Manny"

Our son Emmanuel “Manny,” though born with special needs (Down syndrome), was and is your typical little boy. However, up until the time he turned 18 months old, we had no idea just how “special” he was. See, on July 28th, 2011, Manny was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a blood cancer. This news shook our family to its core and would undoubtedly be our greatest test and blessing at the same time. How so? Allow us to share Manny’s amazing journey of strength as he battled the deadly AML. 

Timothy

I am an awardee of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Scholarship for Blood Cancer Survivors. I currently hold an associate’s degree in science and am pursuing my bachelor's degree in biology at California State University, San Bernardino, (CSUSB). I am very grateful to be granted this scholarship to help pay for my tuition. In fact, this is the first scholarship I have ever been awarded during my education. These funds are a big stress reliever as it has provided me with the ability to avoid taking out a loan for school and given me peace of mind.

Grace

I’m 15 years old, and I’m a ballerina, Junior Zoo Keeper at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, actress, singer, and I am a childhood leukemia survivor.

When I was five years old, my parents noticed that I was getting a lot more bruises and nose bleeds than usual (even living in New Mexico at the time). My abdomen was really swollen and I was taking frequent naps, which was also alarming to my parents.  They took me to an urgent care location near my house where the doctors said that I was fine.

Sue

My story begins with a routine yearly mammogram in April of 2020. I am currently a 25-year breast cancer survivor. So, regular mammograms are just a part of my yearly routine, a simple procedure that I endure yearly with no big issues to speak of ― until now. During the mammogram, they noticed enlarged lymph nodes. My doctor thought it was no big deal, and we would watch them for two weeks and then do another mammogram. I wasn’t worried. She explained that I could be fighting an infection or that I just had large lymph nodes as a normal thing.

Treatment

It's important that your doctor is experienced in treating patients with hairy cell leukemia or works in consultation with a hairy cell leukemia specialist. This type of specialist is usually called a hematologist oncologist.

Types of Hairy Cell Leukemia Treatment

For many people with hairy cell leukemia, starting treatment helps them focus on moving ahead and looking forward to their disease's remission.

Several types of approaches and treatment are used for adults with hairy cell leukemia, some at different stages:

Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm

For personalized disease and treatment information, or to learn about clinical trials, contact one of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS's) Information Specialists at (800) 955-4572. Background

Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) was previously known as natural killer (NK) cell leukemia/lymphoma. As understanding of the biology and origin of this malignancy has improved, the World Health Organization (WHO) established the term blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) in 2008.

Maggie

When I was 8 years old, I was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). I shocked the doctors with how I was still alive because I had a mass the size of a grapefruit on my lungs and masses all over my other vital organs. When I was admitted to the hospital, they got chemo going everywhere they possibly could ― in my port, my arm, my foot. I was then put into a medically induced coma for about two weeks before waking up. After a while in the ICU, I was sent down to the main floor for hematology/oncology.

Finances and Insurance Coverage

Healthcare costs are a key concern for most people with blood cancer. Many patients don't have health insurance, and for others, coverage is limited. If you have health insurance, it's essential that you know what your plan covers and how to maintain your benefits. 

 

Where to Start

You and your family will need to decide how to pay for treatment while managing household finances. You probably also need to consider additional indirect costs, such as lost time from work, childcare and travel expenses.

Nausea and Vomiting

Many cancer treatments can cause nausea and vomiting. Nausea, also called feeling “queasy” or “sick to your stomach,” is that unpleasant feeling you have when you are going to throw up. Vomiting is throwing up what is inside your stomach through the mouth. Nausea and vomiting can happen together, or one can occur without the other. The severity of nausea and vomiting varies among patients. Sometimes these side effects improve as you adjust to treatment, and most side effects go away after treatment ends.

Side Effects

The main goal of treatment for myeloma is to get rid of myeloma cells. The term side effect is used to describe how treatment affects healthy cells. Patients react to treatments in different ways. Sometimes there are very mild side effects. Other side effects may be serious and last a long time.

Myeloma patients should talk with their doctors about side effects before they begin any type of treatment. There are drugs and other therapies can prevent or manage many side effects.

Steve

Happy Pride! As a member of LLS’s new LGBTQIA+ employee resource group, Prism Alliance, and as staff in the Office of Public Policy (OPP), I’m excited to share my story and highlight OPP’s work as part of LLS’s Pride month celebrations.

Healthy Eating

People living with cancer may have different nutrition goals and challenges, depending on their:

Chemotherapy

Because of acute lymphoblastic leukemia's (ALL's) rapid growth, most patients need to start chemotherapy soon after diagnosis.

Chemotherapy drugs kill fast-growing cells throughout the body including cancer cells and normal, healthy cells. The damage to normal, healthy cells can cause side effects. Yet, not everyone experiences side effects the same way. 

ALL treatment consists of:

Sophia

I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) one month before finishing my freshman year of high school. It was shocking and devastating to me and my whole family. I had to leave school, be hospitalized, and begin intense chemotherapy immediately.

Ed

Like many who get diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM), it comes out of nowhere. For me, it was mysterious aches and pains that crept up quickly. An alert doctor ordered tests, and eventually, MGUS, the precursor of MM, was first diagnosed. Within a month, MM was confirmed. MM is a blood/bone cancer that can affect the entire body.

For the next six months, I was involved in many tests, along with drug treatments including chemo. I had a stem cell transplant and have generally had a complete response.

Yarnall Family

To be of service to others comes naturally to the Yarnalls. Bob is a 25-year Marine Corps veteran and a teacher. Kim is a chiropractor for over 22 years.

Cayden

Cayden was only three years old when he was diagnosed with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL) in April 2020. Before his diagnosis, Cayden was full of energy, and he loved to eat. But then he started to complain about leg pain. We first thought it was just a growth spurt, but the pain got so bad that he could not walk. He also lost his appetite. That wasn’t like him at all, and I knew something was not right. It was the height of COVID-19, but we took him to the emergency room. All of his tests came back negative.

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.