In 1999 I had a lump on my neck, and after strong urging from my wife and my mother, I finally went to my family doctor. My white blood cell counts were really high, and antibiotics didn't help. Eventually, a biopsy indicated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
My name is Jaime Fernandez and I am a Clinical Social Worker with UCI Health. I have the pleasure and honor of working with individuals diagnosed with blood cancers.
The last time I gave blood was in June of 2016. I was set to start my fourth gallon when I was told by the volunteer my iron was too low. “Come back next time and eat some raisins before you come,” I was told. The next time was an iron failure again. I made an appointment with my PCP for my annual physical and he drew blood for a CBC.
In January 2014 I got pneumonia for the third in under two years. The hematologists examined my blood and suspected CLL, since my white-blood count was so low. Then a bone-marrow biopsy confirmed this. This certainly explained my inability to fight infections. I skipped all the steps in the grieving process and went straight to acceptance: It is what it is.
Hi, my name is Chaneta, I like to go by Juliet. This past year has been an interesting one, to say the least. I’m a singer-songwriter who wrote and released an album in October 2017. I thought the year was going to be an amazing one–promoting and performing–unfortunately, I performed one time and I began to literally unravel. In December 2017, I caught the flu. Normal stuff, not too bad right?
I was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in December 2004 at stage 0 which was revealed through a routine yearly physical.
