Imatinib is a drug since its approval in 2001 quickly reduced the mortality from disease in the next five years

Patients with chronic myeloid leukemia doubling the daily dose of imatinib, the active ingredient that pushed the disease ceases to be synonymous with death, they respond “before and better treatment than those receiving the standard amount. …read the rest of this entry»

Good afternoon, my name is Sandra. I want to tell you about an incident that happened to me. Well, not to me but to my son, and it was I who underwent this experience.
What Seemed Like an Ear Infection…
I want to begin to tell you how this all began, all of what happened to my son from the start. In 1998 we were completely fine, and my son started to feel bad all of a sudden–his ears began to hurt. I began taking him to the doctor–they sent me to see a specialist.
I took him to the doctor several times, until they came to the conclusion that he needed ear drains to avoid infection, and this would control everything. The day came- -they operated on my son, and they put in the drains.
From that day on, my son completely stopped eating. We did not know what had happened. I took him to the doctor that week, and the doctor told me that this was natural, because it was something strange that happened in his body- -that he had in his body–and he needed to adapt himself, and as the days passed, this would go away.
Several days passed, and once again the same thing happened: he did not want to eat, he refused to eat. “What’s wrong, son, why don’t you want to eat?” “I don’t know mom,” he says, “I am not hungry, food makes me sick”. From then on, every day was the same.
Then I took him to the doctor, and they told me, “Everything is OK, don’t worry.” He says, “Your son will get better. When this passes, everything will be normal.” I say, “Why has my son been like this for so long?” He said, “Maybe a month, and all of this will pass.” …read the rest of this entry»

Kevin ’s childhood experience with leukemia
My name is Kevin, I am 26 years old, I live in Missouri and I am single. I am a 22-year survivor of leukemia. I was diagnosed when I was two years old. I had been sick occasionally throughout early childhood, and my parents had noticed one afternoon that I had bruises all over my body, which of course was completely uncommon, and also had just come over a case of flu. So my parents took me in to a pediatrician and they ran some tests and suspected that I might have leukemia, and then they took me to a local hospital in the Kent City area and that was where I was diagnosed that I had ALL leukemia. I think one of the most important things for me is probably lucky that I was diagnosed with leukemia at such a young age and actually had it at such a young age. I think the misnomer that people have is that because I was so young I don’t remember any of it, and that it was probably not an important thing for me. But even though I was diagnosed when I was two, I do remember a lot of it, particularly the time that I had to spend in the hospital. As soon as I was diagnosed and went to the local hospital for to get some more diagnosis, I was put in the hospital for ten days, and then managed to be in and out of the hospital for ten day terms up until the time that I was about four years old. …read the rest of this entry»

Meet Granny Barb
My name is Barbara, I’m known on the Internet and in cancer circles as Granny Barb. I was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia when I was fifty, and that was eleven years ago. I live in the state of Missouri, but I was born in the state of New York, and you’ll hear it in my speech, even though I’ve been gone for 25 years. My husband and I have celebrated 41 years of marriage, and we have three children, who have given us three grandchildren.
The diagnosis
I have to take you back to eleven years ago, on a lovely August day, when my husband bugged me because he wanted me to get my cholesterol checked. And I called the doctor’s office finally, just to get him off my back, and went in for blood work. I got a call that evening that said, please come in again, there’s something kooky with the blood work. …read the rest of this entry»

Annette: Surviving Leukemia
I’m Annette and I’m 31 years old. I live in Tampa, Florida, with my husband, Abraham, and my two-and-a-half year old son, Alexander. In August 1994, I began my master’s program at the University of South Florida, and noticed that I easily became tired and out of breath. It was Labor Day weekend when my husband and I went to visit my family. And I was strongly encouraged to go to the Emergency Room. For about a week I had small bruises on my chest, later I would find out they were called petechiae. My husband asked me to show my bruises to my mother, grandmother and sisters. At first I was hesitant to go but then at the insistence of my family, I ended up in the ER having a blood test. The staff there on a late Sunday afternoon told me not to worry and just go home and they would call me with the results. After being at my parents’ house for about 20 minutes and we were about to sit down and eat my mom’s lasagna, we got a call from the ER. When I got on the phone they said they couldn’t tell me my results over the phone but I needed to pack my suitcase and plan on staying at the hospital. …read the rest of this entry»

I reflect on the fact that I almost died to show me how much I really wanted to live!Before my diagnosis of leukemia, I struggled with depression. At times I felt it would be better to die than to live with the depression, mistrust, and anger. I felt bitterness toward everything. Most of the time I was in denial. Only my family and close friends knew of my despair.Something happened to me when I was told, “You have leukemia.” Everyone I personally knew who had leukemia had died. Suddenly, I wanted to live! The very doctor in whom I had confided about my depression and despair said, “This reminds me of the story It’s a Wonderful Life.” I finally realized that there are so many great things about life. I fought very hard to live. My usual negative outlook turned to positive energy. I focused on getting well. …read the rest of this entry»

Age at diagnosis: 12
Current age: 14
Occupation: Student

Bethany’s advice: Believe in yourself, and you will make it.

Bethany’s Cancer Journey
It all started when the health nurses came to vaccinate the kids at my school with the hepatitis B vaccine. After I had the vaccination, I always seemed to have sinus colds. I didn’t go to the doctor because I thought, “Well, it’s winter, and lots of people have colds.”

March break came, and I went to my aunt’s house with my brother to stay for a couple of nights. When I came home, I was really stuffed up, and every time I blew my nose, there was blood. I thought it was because my aunt’s house is really dry and she smokes. Then one day, my mom took me to the doctor because my skin looked yellow. My doctor said I had blood in my nose because I was constantly blowing it and that I was yellow from blowing so much. The doctor also said I had a sinus cold and put me on antibiotics. They seemed to help, but once I was off of the antibiotics, the sinus cold came back. …read the rest of this entry»

Welcome and Participant Introductions

Wendy Harpham:
Hi! Welcome to the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Survivors Network. I’m Dr. Wendy Harpham, your host. Today I will be talking with three women in their late 30s and early 40s, all of whom have been treated for lymphoma or leukemia. As a long-term survivor of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma myself, I’m pleased to be your host for today’s conversation as we talk about ways to stay healthy emotionally and spiritually during treatment and recovery, understanding what it means to have a normal life after cancer, finding support groups for young survivors, concerns regarding the long-term and late effects of cancer treatments, and dealing in healthy ways with the possibility of recurrence.

Our first guest is Lisa, a 40-year-old cancer survivor from Texas. Lisa is a single mom with two children, a boy six and a half, and a girl four and a half. Welcome to the program, Lisa.

Lisa:
Thank you, Wendy. It’s very good to be here.

Wendy Harpham:
What are your children’s names?

Lisa:
Mitchell and Emily.

Wendy Harpham:
Great. Now, I understand that in the spring of 2000 you found out about your cancer after having an elective surgery. Apparently your incision didn’t heal well and then you developed pneumonia in both lungs.

Lisa:
That’s correct.

Wendy Harpham:
And testing revealed that you had AML, acute myelogenous leukemia. So you were started on chemotherapy immediately, and your leukemia went into remission right away. …read the rest of this entry»

Symptom and Description Your surgery or treatment may make it difficult for you to swallow or to control food in your mouth. These exercises will improve your ability to move your tongue well. Your tongue is important for eating, speaking, and swallowing.

Learning Needs You will learn exercises to make your tongue stronger. You also need to know when to call your doctor or nurse.

Prevention It is not likely you can prevent this problem from occurring, but these techniques can make it easier for you to swallow:

• Do these exercises five to ten times a day.
• Keep a record of the exercises.
• Note any changes you feel while eating or swallowing.
• Call your doctor or nurse if it becomes more difficult to swallow or eat. …read the rest of this entry»
  

Appetite Stimulation

Symptom and Description Loss of appetite is a loss of the desire to eat. Not eating can lead to weight loss. Weight loss can cause weakness and fatigue, which affect your ability to perform normal activities. Proper nutrition also helps your body prevent and fight infection. Weight loss or lack of appetite may be due to the cancer or sometimes to treatments for the cancer.

Learning Needs You will need to learn the possible causes for loss of appetite and inform your doctor of the signs. You should report the following causes for loss of appetite.

• Tiredness
• Pain
• Taste changes such as with sugar, salt, caffeine, meats
• Side effects from medications …read the rest of this entry»