I have been very active with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) for over 20 years including serving on the Wisconsin Chapter Board and Leadership Development Committee, fundraising for virtually all of the campaigns, patient mentoring, and advocacy leadership.
The date was May 15, 2015, in the local office of the hematologist/oncologist and I was given this message after the results of my bone marrow biopsy taken a week earlier.
I was diagnosed in September 2017 with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and by May 2019, I was told of the need for a bone marrow transplant (BMT). And even though they told me about a "new life after transplant," my life has completely changed. I could not go back to work because of graft vs. host disease (GVHD) and multiple infections during and post-transplant.
I was diagnosed with refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts (RARS), a type of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) in 1996. The prognosis was two to five years expected. I’ve had the same prognosis (per bone marrow biopsy) four more times since, last time in 2023.
I was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) on my 11th birthday after having nosebleeds that lasted hours for months.
My name is Steve. My purpose is to give others hope and the possibility of tomorrows. I am a leukemia survivor, specifically myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Today, one year after my bone marrow transplant, I am 100% cancer-free!
It was 2009. Obama had just been sworn in as president, captain Sully successfully landed United Airlines flight 1549 on the Hudson River during an aircraft malfunction, and all souls on board survived.
