Acute myeloid leukaemia

[Donna3380]

Hi my name is Donna in December 2013 I went into hospital with what I thought then was tonsillitis only to be told the next morning i had cancer and they had to do a bone marrow biopsy to confirm that it was that for sure. My world was turned upside down as you can imagine I went into denial about it all the hardest part was telling my family especially my twin sister who I was so close to I had to spend 6 months in hospital having chemotherapy which didn't make me as ill as I thought it would the hardest part was losing my hair as a women it was everything to me I felt like I lost apart of me I wasn't a women anymore it took that away from me. I missed my family and friends I found it really hard to deal with but made some great friends who was going through the same and helped me through it also lost some great friends along the way it was hard to stay positive when that happened but had no choice had to remain positive. I finished treatment and went into remission for 18 months then went for routine check up and found out that it had come back I felt broken knowing what I would have to go through again. I was kept in hospital once again started chemo again and told I would need a transplant it was my only chance so that's what happened I had my transplant last November it's been exactly a year since I had it was a lot easier than I thought I'm so grateful to my donor it's not been easy as I've got graft versus host disease due to the transplant my skin gets really bad and I have to have treatment for it every 2 was by going on a machine and other complications to but I'm still here and am very thankful for that no one really understands unless they been through it themselves I'm always Here to chat and listen if anyone wants to live Donna x

[Rodney2419]

Hi Donna thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings and so good that you have survived.

The biggest shock must have been loosing some close friends but the big reward has been to find new friends.

I expect that the help from Leukemiacare has helped you. My CLL is near the end of watch and wait period and was reassured by the LC nurse about modern chemo.

A bit of advice has been to be HAPPY and find happiness and it works!

Best wishes

Rodney

[Donna3380 in reply to Rodney2419]

Thank you Rodney I hope all goes well for you keep me updated and remain positive never give up on hope cancer can't take that away from us x

[TJM1]

Hi Donna I'm so pleased for you that you are doing well after transplant, I am a carer for my husband who was diagnosed with AML this March 2016 he has had a rough ride he ended up in intensive care for 2.5 weeks very scary, he had a stem cell transplant on 29th September he is +60 days today. He has cmv infection so taking meds which makes his blood counts drop it's all very worrying trying to take one day at a time want to get to the first 100 day milestone!! Hope you continue to improve each day take care,

Tracey xx

[Donna3380 in reply to TJM1]

Hi Tracey thanks for your message it's the Unknown which I found to be scary I to ended up in intensive care do to infection I hope that your husband is ok and you can only take it one day at a time as I do now one day I can be fine the next really poorly it's a ongoing battle and sometimes I feel like it's one step forward two steps back but have to be thankful I'm still here it's not just a quick fix as you are nitrous about the side effects afterwards if you ever need to chat or just a moan about things I'm here I know how hard and difficult it must be for you a sit was for my family best wishes Donna x

[LCNurse LeukaemiaCARE Nurse]

Hi Donna

Thank you for joining the Leukaemia care forum and offering support to other patients with blood cancers.

It is important for the forum to have patients like to you that understand what it is like to go through treatment for leukaemia.

You sound like a very positive person.

Please contact me if you need any support or information.

[Topteam]

Wonderful and so helpful all the comments on here, I am almost 9 months post stem cell transplant tho still a little breathless I'm feeling better daily, I find the comments on here so very helpful and wish everyone all the very best, thank you all so very much,!!