Patient Journeys

Following are some true, first-hand stories from persons who have been journeying along the road that is CML.

• Butterfly

  Learning a parent has cancer..

  Learning a parent has cancer, especially at a young age and/or pivotal point in a child’s life is simply devastating. Unfortunately, this is something my family had to come to terms with shortly after I turned 18, during my first year of CEGEP. My mom was diagnosed with CML and with that diagnosis came many questions. What exactly is CML? Can it be cured? How long is treatment? Will my mom be very sick?

  Read Butterfly's Story

• CAS

  The “Lucky” kind of Cancer

  When I was in the fifth grade, a long, long time ago, I was required to read a book called “A little girl’s gift”. This book was about a girl about the same age as me at the time, who had Leukemia. This was not a fictional story, her parents had written it. It didn’t have a happy ending. What I learned from the book was that Leukemia was a scary word and a dreadfully insidious, formidable disease. So, I was absolutely horrified to be diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia when I was 43 years old.

  Read CAS's Story

• Pete

  I was diagnosed November 29th 2008 with Chronic Myeloegenous leukemia..

  I was diagnosed November 29th 2008 with Chronic Myeloegenous Leukemia, after having been rushed to the Windsor Regional Hospital, with an unrelated bleeding ulcer. I was 70 years old at the time, overall healthy, but shocked to find out I had Leukemia, something I really knew nothing about.

  Read Pete's Story

• Pippa

  I was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia in 1998.

  I was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia in 1998. I was a busy 39 years old marketing executive with two growing children and a loving husband. My 11 year old daughter described the diagnosis as a bomb going off in our family that changed it forever. Massive fear and uncertainty gripped us. We sought out practical support from friends and family to help us keep the family going. I cannot over emphasize how important getting this type of help is to a family with a diagnosis like this.

  Read Pippa's Story

• Portia

  In 2002, I underwent an emergency appendectomy.

  In 2002, I underwent an emergency appendectomy. Shortly thereafter in the follow-up surgery, it was noticed that my white blood count was very high. The initial thought was that there was some sort of infection. In general I was not feeling well. After more testing, it was determined that I had a rare form of Leukemia, Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia and I was referred to a Hematologist/Oncologist.

  Read Portia's Story