In December 2024, I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). I had just finished finals and had not been feeling well, so I went to the doctor when I got home from school. I was feeling very tired, short of breath, had red dots on my legs, and random infections. That was when I was diagnosed with leukemia and began my first hospital stay of five weeks. I completed five rounds of chemo and reached remission in August 2025. Throughout these rounds of chemo, we discovered a germline mutation in my family that puts us at a much greater risk of developing AML. A combination of genetic testing and family history helped us make sense of this. Fortunately, I was the only child to inherit this mutation and have also completed the process of freezing my eggs to avoid passing it on to my children.
Once reaching remission, I enjoyed my time with family and friends and returned to dental school in January 2026.
I was still seeing my doctor regularly and closely tracking my progress. In February, my biopsy came back showing I was no longer in remission. Since then, I have completed one round of chemo. I will complete another round this upcoming month, then be admitted in June for my stem cell transplant. During my initial five rounds of chemo, my family was tested to see if anyone was a match to be a stem cell donor. My brother came back as a 10/10 match.
Liz
acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
