MDS

I try so hard to be positive, but in the back of my mind, I am constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, for my blood counts to worsen, for the results of the next bone marrow biopsy to be haywire, for the chemo with its side effects to be administered, intensified or changed.

A new television show, as well as a recent CURE campaign, gave insight to life with cancer.

It is not the type of fatigue where a good night’s sleep will “cure” us. It just seems to go on and on.

APLASTIC ANEMIA & MDS INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

When it comes to routine eye checkups and other appointments not directly related to my cancer, I become lax.

Cancer survivors learn to tunnel through the snow. We have a community to help us become stronger mentally and support us through the tough times.

There are dozens of potential side effects, and more are being reported every month.

One problem for all of us cancer patients is just when we think we have learned our limits, they change.

After a cancer diagnosis, is there anyone to blame?

Techniques open a field of opportunity for stem cell transplant recipients.

After we have been diagnosed with cancer, our lives will never be the same again. But we need to try to just perform one little service – a phone call, a card, an email to encourage others. The wonderful thing is with or without cancer, we may just live a little bit longer with joy!

Wistfully, I recall the days I could work all day, come home and do things around the house and then go out for dinner! Those days are long gone. I am off the chemo this week, but next week I will feel even more fatigue when I go back on.

It takes a village to support someone through a cancer diagnosis.

Recent research showed first-degree relatives of patients with certain types of blood cancers may be at an increased risk for such disease, highlighting the importance of counseling, gene testing and surveillance.

Robin Roberts discusses her two cancer journeys and why she shared them with viewers of 'Good Morning America.'

Sometimes life throws you the curveball of cancer.

Nothing is worse than the long-term effects like chemo fog and going deaf. I do think that we need to report these medications and hope research will try to develop treatments with fewer side effects.

I usually got the infections first, so my oncologist loaded me up with antibiotics and off I went. She knows that not going would cause such a depression that I would be worse.

I know my life will never be the same again. I will not ever be well or free of chemo and treatments and shots and blood counts and bone marrow biopsies. I have slowly become used to my new way of life.

Planting a tree can be a wonderful and lasting way to honor a survivor or a loved one who has passed.

In our lives before cancer, we have several avenues for our energy including family, work, school, volunteer work and on and on. We were able to juggle it all. But after a diagnosis, we need to choose one or two passions and let the rest go.

People may tell me that I look good, but I don't always feel that way.

Recovery from cancer doesn’t just involve physical health; it often involves overcoming the financial barriers between illness and wellness that make moving forward seem impossible.

Tavalisse (fostamatinib) was granted approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) after they had an insufficiencent response to another therapy.

Patients with cancer are often asked when they’ll be done with chemotherapy or treatment. Those of us with blood cancers and bone marrow type of cancers such as aplastic anemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, lymphoma and leukemia, along with a host of other cancers sadly have to say, “never.”

Our lives are broken up after a loss, but eventually the pieces are put back together. The hard part is that the new pieces can make a totally different picture.

Sometimes a kind gesture can mean the world to someone going through a tough time.

I feel like the Giving Tree. I like to give, but some of my energy and ability to assist were taken away, not by a boy, but by a disease with consequences.

In the movie, Charlie Brown was asked what his New Year’s resolution was. With typical candor, he answered that instead of dreading the whole year he was dreading only one day at a time.

Patients with blood cancers are at an increased risk for multiple hospital readmissions. However, multidisciplinary teams and patients can work together to identify predictors and avoid these occurrences.