Stories

Over two decades ago when I was first diagnosed with essential thrombocythemia (ET)—a rare chronic blood cancer—I braced myself for many things: unfamiliar medications, long-term uncertainty, the emotional toll. I...

When I first saw this question, it stirred up a lot of anger and pain from my cancer journey. I’ve been blessed to be in long-term remission from Stage IV-B...

I had heard horror stories about the bone marrow biopsy. I had mine at Yale Hematology under care of Dr Naparidze and felt only pressure not pain. Lidocaine shot prior...

The cold, sterile air of the hospital room pressed down on me as the doctor’s words shattered my world — "Stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma." I wasn’t just hearing a diagnosis;...

So, long story short, I was diagnosed with CML (chronic myeloid leukemia) in the fall of 2023. Since then, I have been on, I forget how many, chemo meds. They...

I was just diagnosed last May. However I have been anemic for years and have had enlarged lymph nodes on my mammograms for years. (Not to mention labs out of...

I was having frequent infections, and my pulmonologist saw that my blood counts were going down, suggesting me to see a hematologist. I consulted him and after my bone marrow...

I was diagnosed in the late 1990s and my treatments have always been geared to combat the bad skin conditions. I once had on about 25% of my body covered...

I am diagnosed with Leukemia and my life is in shambles. What do I do? What treatment? What will treatment do to me? Will I be able to support my...

In July of 2020 I was in the emergency room with a mental health issue and because it was during the pandemic I was sitting on a gurney in the...

My story—or journey, as I prefer to call it—began in December 2023. I was having severe pain in my right kidney area, which led me to the emergency room for...

"Can I get a light, please?" was all I could say. My heart was pounding out of my chest from anxiety and fear, disguised as anger. How? Why? My mind...

At the end of 2022, my sister was diagnosed with bladder cancer. I made the comment that sisters never battle alone and told her that I would be there to...

My worst fear is trusting doctors and care team. I wasn't scheduled to see my oncologist this month, and from the looks of it, no one checked my blood count...

I was told my whole adult life I had dense breasts. I really didn’t have a chest before kids. I breastfed both my kids. At 37 years old, I saw...

Summer of 2023, I started having extreme back pain and hip pain. I bent over in my kitchen to pick something up, and I couldn't get back up again. I...

My journey started in May of 2019. Through blood tests, my PCP suspected blood cancer. A BMB showed 70% affected, and I started treatment with my spleen enlarged at 21...

I was feeling very tired and weak. I’d sleep so much every day, and I had bruises on my shoulders and was out of breath for no reason. Then one...

My name is Anna, and I was diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, double cell, in November 2022. I underwent six rounds of R-CHOP and two bone marrow biopsies. I...

I have PV and ET with the JAK2 mutation. My blood work has been really low, but my hematocrit has started to rise again. It's getting close to 45. It...