Advice needed

FormerMember
FormerMember
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My very good friend has recently been diagnosed with Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, philidelphia positive. I don’t really understand what is going on it’s all happened so quick. She has just been for her first consultation for a bone marrow transplant. It has all been totally overwhelming and right now she is scared and worried and so many things I can’t even begin to imagine!! 
she doesn’t know how she can get through all that has been explained about what happens and just how ill she is. 
She’s not the type of person to reach out on a forum like this so I’m doing it on her behalf. She feels so tired and sick and weak!!
Myself and her family thought it might be a good thing if she could hear from someone who has been through they type of treatment she is facing. I know it’s a lot to ask of anyone who has been through such an experience but any advice and emotional support from someone that knows how she feels might just be enough to give her the strength to get her through. As her friend there isn’t much I can do but ask for this support on her behalf. Thank you.

  • Hi 

    Welcome to the ALL forum and I am so sorry to hear about your friend. It is always a traumatic experience when you get  a cancer diagnosis and it can be even more so when the word leukaemia is thrown into the mix as well.

    I was diagnosed with ALL back in 2012 when I was 42 and although I wasn't Philadelphia +ve I did have another high risk variant. I had different cycles of chemo on the UKALL 14  regiment (it was a trial back then) and then went on to have a stem cell transplant from someone on the bone marrow register. My donor was a 9/10 match and I had my stem cells on the 31st May 2013 so I am approaching my 8th birthday!

    I now leave a normal life and I can do everything I used to before the ALL. It is a tough journey but definitely doable and having friends that are there for you certainly helps.

    You can read my journey under my profile HERE-PAUL1969 which will give you a feel for the journey I had. Everyone's journey will be different. You should also have a look in the Stem Cell Transplant forum which you can access by clicking HERE-STEM CELL TRANSPLANTS  There are lots of people there who have been through or are currently going through the same journey treatment as your friend.

    If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Smiley

    Paul

    What is a Community Champion?

    You can speak to someone in confidence by calling Macmillan Support on 0808 808 0000 - 365 days a year 8am to 8pm It's free from mobiles and landlines. The friendly team are waiting to take your call.

     

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember in reply to Paul1969

    Hi Paul1969

    just wanted to say thank you for your response to my post. Very much appreciated! I will take a look at your journey and feed back to my friend. 
    I think she was very scared at the thought of how she feels after one intensive treatment of Chemo and thinking how on earth would she survive another 2 or 3 rounds of Chemo. She has had some good news today to say the Chemo she has already had has eradicated all but 0.01% of the cancer in her body and they are hoping that one more treatment will be enough for her to start treatment for the bone marrow transplant earlier than expected which is great news, we think! 

    Thanks again for your response.

    Regards

    Daisy Doolittle 

  • Hi

    That's good news indeed. I also went into remission after my first round of chemo. Lets hope she keeps doing well!

    Paul

    What is a Community Champion?

    You can speak to someone in confidence by calling Macmillan Support on 0808 808 0000 - 365 days a year 8am to 8pm It's free from mobiles and landlines. The friendly team are waiting to take your call.