Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML)

In 1985 at four years old I was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Luckily, my sister who was two at the time was a bone marrow match so I underwent a bone marrow transplant. The house of chemotherapy and radiation left me nauseas to the point I couldn’t bear the smell food. But thankfully, I was soon in remission.

In July 2013, during what was supposed to be a normal sports physical, I turned my head to the side to talk to my doctor, and my mom noticed something, "Is that a lump on her throat?" she asked.

In April 2017, Katelin, also known as KiNG, went to see a doctor for persistent severe headaches and dizziness. A blood test revealed that she had phase III chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). For someone Katelin’s age, a normal white blood cell count is between 5,000 to 10,000 — Katelin’s was 660,000.

I was 18 and had just moved away to go to nursing school, when I was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). In 1997, the only treatment option for CML was a stem cell transplant, a far cry from the oral treatment options available today.

On November 22, 2013, I was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML). There was no sign that anything was wrong until I went in for routine blood work. My platelet count, which should have been in the 150,000 to 400,000 mcL range, was over a million. After a bone marrow biopsy, my oncologist discovered that I had Philadelphia chromosome–positive CML.

I was 28, married for two years, and my husband and I had just celebrated our one-year anniversary at my business, Gigi’s Cupcakes. But on March 30, 2012, that all changed.

Dorothy Spriggs was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in 1999 and is currently doing well.

Since 2011, “Ms. Dottie” has volunteered with the Baltimore chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  She does office work regularly, participates in events and volunteers as a peer counselor to support others living with the same diagnosis.