Search Results

Katie

Katie is a beautiful young girl who was diagnosed with T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on January 24, 2015. Her cancer is particularly aggressive and presented with subtle signs such as lethargy, loss of appetite, and just a general change in personality. Her family took her to the ER just to find that she had masses in her lungs, liver and spleen.

Bradley

I was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) on February 13, 2017. I went to MD Anderson since I was already living in Houston, Texas. I was a pastor and counselor for 24 years. I was able to use my counseling skills with other patients as I was going through my inpatient treatment. I introduced patients to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and AFLAC, as well as provided a listening ear. My life was not without troubles. My brother took his life the same day as my diagnosis. After my first relapse, my wife of 24 years passed from stomach cancer in May 2019.

Dane

I was diagnosed with stage 3 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in the summer before my senior year of high school in 2020. It was a tough adjustment dealing with the treatment and the aftereffects of treatment while going into my final year of high school. A relatively carefree life was upturned in an instant, and I was presented with new challenges of balancing my new condition with the social and educational challenges that the final year of high school posed.

Grace

I went to a simple doctor's appointment on October 27, and from that day on, my life flipped upside down. I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in October of 2021 right before Halloween. I planned to take a gap year after my high school graduation that year, but now I didn’t have a choice. At the beginning of treatment, everything was going well. Although this was all new to me and my mom, who was staying in the hospital with me where I lived for 41 days, I was doing well. I had hope. I had a few setbacks during my stay which caused me to be there longer.

Lo

I was diagnosed with stage 3 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) in February 2022. I endured six months of chemotherapy and relied on my girlfriend to be my caregiver. I faced many setbacks including remaining neutropenic for the majority of my treatment. This meant staying home 24/7 despite going to the hospital and spending a lot of time online.

Michele

Bald is beautiful. Words and looks can be truly powerful. Positivity can change one’s opinion and most important of all, people. Surround yourself with people that make you cry that you’re laughing so hard, that make you smile for no reason, and leave your heart whole.

Miguel

Miguel was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2017. He was an active, healthy man all his life so this came as a total shock. We didn't know what to expect or what the outcome would be and we were both beyond devastated.

As being inquisitive is my nature, I gathered all the information I could and became extremely proactive in my husband's care and my determination to get him healed from this disease. Giving up was NOT an option for either of us.

Dianne

When I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to be a nurse so I could help people. I did become a registered nurse, predominately in critical care settings. So, when you receive a disease diagnosis, you treat the problem…right? Not necessarily I have learned.

I was recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). I felt as if I was tumbling down a dark, hot hole. “Not curable, treatable, lifelong”. This is “watch and wait” protocol diagnosis…an overwhelming concept…”watch and worry”, I was told, was another concept.

Abby

In 2015, our identical twin daughters, Kenedi and Kendal, were diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at three months old. After a brutal six months of living in isolation with them in one room at the hospital, the twins were released off treatment and in remission. We enjoyed 12 months of at home as a family of five, we were devastated to learn Kendal relapsed. She underwent two more rounds of intense chemo as well as a bone marrow transplant that ultimately failed, Kendal died in our arms in September 2017. One week later, Kenedi celebrated two years in remission.

Ryan

I am a 12 year survivor of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and was heavily involved with LLS when I was a patient going through treatment. I was a part of the Honored Hero program during elementary and middle school and would go speak and tell my story to schools in the Cincinnati Tri-State area with my mother.

Shelley

Shelley was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma in September of 2010 after finding a lump behind her ear. Testing showed she was in stage 3 and had a tumor in her large intestine. Her doctors went before the tumor board, where several other medical experts reviewed her options, to determine whether she should have surgery or chemotherapy. Approximately two weeks later she ended up having emergency open colon surgery and surgeons found another tumor blocking her small intestine.

Kimberly

My wife was in the thick of her emergency medicine residency when life threw us a curveball — she was unexpectedly diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). In the middle of 24-hour shifts, parenting our three-year-old, and studying for boards, she now had to face chemotherapy too.

Signs and Symptoms

Some patients initially have no symptoms of MDS, and abnormal results from routine blood tests may be the earliest signs of the disease. For patients with symptoms, it is common not to feel well because of the lack of normal, healthy blood cells.

Anemia is a decrease in the number of healthy red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body. Anemia may cause symptoms such as:

Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor (TKI) Therapy

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are a type of targeted therapy. TKIs come as pills, taken orally. A targeted therapy identifies and attacks specific types of cancer cells while causing less damage to normal cells. In CML, TKIs target the abnormal BCR::ABL1 protein that causes uncontrolled CML cell growth and block its function, causing the CML cells to die. 

The first therapy given for a disease is called “initial” or “first-line” treatment. The following four TKI drugs are approved as first-line treatment for chronic phase CML:

Fernando

I am a 26-year-old cancer survivor and am about to begin my first year of law school.

Nicolasa

The first time I heard of Team In Training (TNT) and raising money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) was when my friend and I wanted to run the Nike Women's Half in D.C. We filled out the application and got accepted and started raising money, not having a clue about where this path was going to lead us. It was at that time that I began to realize the impact leukemia and lymphoma have had on my family and friends, whether they or a loved one had gone through treatment. I wrote all of their names on my singlet and carried them with me along that course.

Rachel

My name is Rachel. My tribal affiliation is full-blood Chickasaw/Creek/Seminole. I am 19 years old and will be entering my second year at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. I attended Little Axe Schools from Kindergarten to my senior year of high school. Little Axe is a rural community school outside of Norman, Oklahoma. My parents are both full-blood Natives, and I have an older brother (25) and a younger brother (16). My older brother, Caleb, is a state trooper for the State of Oklahoma. My younger brother, Andrew, will be starting the 10th grade at Little Axe High School.

James

My symptoms began in May 2017. I was having shortness of breath while climbing stairs and jogging up even the smallest of inclines. I chalked my windedness to age; I was fifty-seven. And I told myself that I was tired after teaching a hectic school year.

Savanna

Savanna, age ten, was diagnosed with high risk Pre B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in May 2014. She was in and out of the hospital for 114 days – close to half of a year! She endured countless chemo treatments, stays in the Pediatric ICU, intensive total body irradiation, spinal taps, blood transfusions and much more.  The doctors decided her best chance to beat her cancer was a full Bone Marrow Transplant. Her match was her brave 12-year-old brother, Asher.

Debbie

I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) on November 6, 2017. I was transported to the James Cancer Hospital and immediately placed in a medically induced coma for several weeks. I was given intense chemotherapy with little hope that I would survive. Luckily for me, I did survive and was sent to Dodd Hall where I would learn to walk, talk, think, and swallow without asphyxiating myself. After two long months in the hospital, I went home in January of 2018 to fatten up and get strong enough for my stem cell transplant.

Sofia

As a five-year survivor of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), I have come to truly appreciate the value of life's opportunities and the importance of being fully present in every moment. My battle against cancer has shaped me into a determined and compassionate individual, instilling in me a deep sense of empathy for others facing similar challenges. I am grateful to have been awarded a scholarship for cancer survivors by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), recognizing both my journey and my aspirations.

Dale

My husband, Dale, was first diagnosed with leukemia in October 2011, after we noticed a bubble under his chin. His chemo treatment lasted for four months, and in May of 2012, he was in remission. We were very excited to learn those results. He took his port out, and started living life again. Early in 2015, Dale was told his cancer was back, and the skin bubbles started to reappear. This meant another port and a different chemo treatment. It made him very sick, angry and depressed. It’s hard to watch your husband cry or shake cause he’s so cold and you just can’t keep him warm enough.

Len

My son was rubbing my shoulders and noticed a lump on the side of my neck which freaked him out.  He then told my wife about it and they demanded that I go have it checked. In November 2013, I was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

I had my second round of treatment this past spring. The first one was rituxan alone and this last time was rituxan along with bendamustine for six months.

Marc

In 1989, Marc Smith, was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). He was given a terminal prognosis and for more than two years endured numerous obstacles and setbacks, including two relapses and six extensive rounds of chemotherapy. His only chance of even short-term survival was to have a bone marrow transplant.

Jessica

Two years after surviving a massive heart attack, a heart transplant and a leg amputation at age 16, Jessica found a lump on her neck and was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). After months of treatment, her cancer was in remission.

Six years later, Jessica found another lump which out to be a different form of NHL. She told herself she'd been through cancer once before and there was no reason she couldn't beat it again. By January 2008, she was back in remission and finished treatment that following May.