Patient Stories — Blood Cancers and Related Disorders
Patients of all ages and backgrounds from across the United States and throughout the world receive treatment for blood cancers and related disorders at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center's Hematologic Oncology Treatment Center.
Get to know some of these inspiring patients, their families, and their caregivers by reading their stories.
By seeking second opinions, participating in clinical trials, exercising, and staying positive, multiple myeloma patient Jim Bond is still enjoying life 20 years after his diagnosis.
Diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma at age 22, Areana Carcieri was facing the stark reality that her treatment could affect her fertility. She turned to fertility specialist Sara Barton, MD, for guidance.
Dana-Farber employee Rosemary Fischer, who once helped plan events for the opening of the Yawkey Center for Cancer Care, was diagnosed in 2011 with acute T cell lymphoblastic leukemia and started treatment at the Yawkey Center. She shares her perspective as an employee turned patient.
At age 24, Black Hawk pilot Ben Groen was diagnosed with T cell lymphoblastic non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Says Groen, it was "a huge shock." This rare, aggressive cancer was an enemy without a face, but Groen was well trained for combat and employed his army training to fight his cancer as he would any other enemy.
On his 40th birthday, Craig Johnson received an extra special surprise: a visit from his stem cell donor from Germany, Henrik Janssen. Johnson received a successful stem cell transplant in 2006 with a match from Janssen.
Five years ago, Marc Kutzer needed a bone marrow transplant to treat his myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). His sister Roberta Klein was a match, but during her routine pre-transplant physical, doctors discovered she had lung cancer. Today, both brother and sister are doing well.
Karen Lee Sobol shares her experience and advice as a patient who received treatment for Waldenström's Macroglobulinemia, a slow-growing type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Alyssa Ywuc was a 23-year-old nursing student when she was diagnosed with leukemia. Before cancer, she wasn't sure what type of nurse she wanted to be. After her self-described "nothing but positive," experience as a patient at Dana-Farber, she decided to become an oncology nurse.