On July 16, 2014 I had just finished eating out at our local diner. When standing at the register to pay, my defibrillator fired and an ambulance was called.
Within two hours of arriving at the emergency room I found out I had leukemia. I had had no symptoms other than the lab work that showed the disease. I was in disbelief when I heard the words "very aggressive form of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL)." By the next afternoon I was started on a heavy regiment of arsenic and ATRA chemotherapy treatment. Inpatient hospital therapy for seven weeks then home for outpatient chemotherapy treatment for eight months.
During my stay my wife did extensive research on leukemia and even joined a local Light The Night Walk for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), raising more than $1,800 herself. What we learned by educating ourselves through LLS helped us to make the right decisions in my plan of treatment and hope for the future. I entered remission in the spring of 2015.
I know that remission is not a cure, however it is a goal that we didn't think was achievable eight months previously, according to our doctors. We are proud to be a part of the LLS family and will continue to show our support. Without LLS we could not have gotten through this since we were navigating blindly. We are hopeful that you too will find some peace in your journey and that you will continue to support LLS and its research. Even though I constantly have to be retested, I am so very hopeful .
Doug
APL Survivor
