In 2019, at 32, several symptoms culminated and, in hindsight, were red flags to the disease progression of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). I was less than 90 days into a new job in residential construction. I did not pay attention to what my body was telling me (extreme fatigue, excessively bleeding gums after a dental exam, bruising, and petechiae on my chest and upper extremities). After a busy weeknight trip to the grocery store, my body made me stop to pay attention with a 103.2° fever.
With that, I drove myself to the local emergency room. A complete blood count painted a perplexing situation; my body was overproducing white blood cells and had a near-zero platelet count. A swift admittance into the hospital turned into a 35-day stay. The morning after, the news was slowly filtering in of a type of blood disorder, and the day after that, it was confirmed to be a leukemia diagnosis.
It was aggressive, and action was needed. At that time, I was informed if I had waited to seek treatment for another week or two, I may not be writing my story today. Early in my cancer journey, an allogeneic stem cell transplant was sought as a curative treatment option, along with several clinical trials to stem the tide of my IDH2 and STAG2 genetic mutations. The treatment and trials were markedly successful, and I am celebrating five years of survivorship.
My first exposure to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) was through The Patti Robinson Kaufmann First Connection® Program, and I had a sliver of hope for a truly good and fulfilling life after cancer. I spoke to two AML survivors, one of whom had been out of active treatment for 25 years and thriving! As the average age of diagnosis for AML is one's late 60s, I hesitatingly navigated data and statistics geared toward a much older population. I found a large gap in the research. I am most grateful that LLS is making large inroads in blood cancer survivorship (especially in the pediatric and elderly populations). Still, there are many of us in between who must speak up to know one is never alone during their treatment. To that end, I am proud to volunteer with LLS in roles such as The Patti Robinson Kaufmann First Connection® Program, Patient and Community Outreach, and advocacy at the state level, and hope to continue this important work as long as I can.
Zac
acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
