Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS)

I was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) in December of 2020. I went through six treatments from January 2021 to June 2021. The treatments were a series of shots for seven days at the beginning of the month. In July 2021, I was approved for my stem cell transplant at The James Cancer Center, The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. I had my stem cell transplant on July 29.

This cause is dear to me because my grandmother, Anne Zavorskas, passed away several years ago from Hodgkin’s disease—a form of leukemia. Also, many years ago, my mentor’s son, Ryan Hurley, had a recurrence of leukemia, which he was first diagnosed with at the age of three. He died at the age of 19.

My awareness of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) began years ago when a close family member was diagnosed with leukemia. In the wake of such devastating news, I felt compelled to lend a hand.  I am honored to join the LLS family in their fight to cure blood cancers.

In January of 2016, my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). He was unresponsive to treatment. He went into remission, but it quickly came back. The clinic said they couldn’t do anything more, so he was referred to the University of Minnesota for a clinical trial. The treatment included me, as his daughter, donating my T-cells.