laurenalex's Cancer Blog
November 28, 2007
Hey everyone, I hope you are all having a good morning. This post is just to finish the introduction about myself. I’ll be quick. The day that I was diagnosed with leukemia I had 90,000 white blood cells and 96% of them were blasts (cancerous cells). I also had a very large (11 by 16 cm) mass in my chest. By Novemeber 9th, I was at my 29th day of induction therapy and I was told that I had 0% blasts in both my blood and my bone marrow! So I was in remission. I was overwhelmed, it was the best news I had ever heard in my entire life. A closer look at my bone marrow showed that I had less than 1% minimum residual disease (cancer cells) in my bone marrow. This was also great news. So two weeks ago I signed up for a study- I am being treated as a Pediatric patient at The Denver Children’s Hospital which has given me the option of enrolling in a pediatric T-Cell leukemia study- and I have now started treatment according to the study’s protocol.
November 27, 2007
Hi Everyone. This is my first post so I will tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Lauren and I am originally from Connecticut. I moved to Boulder, Colorado two years ago to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder. I was diagnosed with T Cell A.L.L on October 10, 2007. I went to the doctor because I had a cough, but they ended up telling me they thought I had paricardititis (an inflammation in the lining around the heart). I drove myself to the hospital and my boyfriend Kyle, my best friend and roommate Sara, and our very best family friend Peggy (a survivor of breast cancer) came to meet me. They took my blood in the hospital and an oncologist came in and broke the news to me that I had leukemia. My white cell count was at 90,000! My grandparents arrived a little later (they live about 2 hours away). My parents flew out from Connecticut the next morning and I was transferred from Boulder Community Hospital to the Children’s Hospital in Denver. I stayed there a week and a half. My mom has been staying at my apartment with Sara and me. Kyle basically lives with us too (he lives in Denver but is over all the time). I am tired a lot so it is great to have such awesome people around for support and to help with every day things like cooking and cleaning and running errands. My dad flies out every chance he gets to be with me and my grandparents and other family come to visit me a lot. I had to drop out of college for the semester because I have to go to the hospital so often and I am tired a lot of the time. I signed up for two classes next semester, so I am hopeful I will at least be able to go back to school then. Anyway, that’s my story of the last month and a half in a nutshell and enough from me for one day.
Lauren
Hey Lauren! Welcome to the group. I am in Boulder too! Small world. Let me know if you need anything.
Posted on Hi Lauren,
I am so sorry this has happened to you. Life can really give us some bumpy roads to cross that’s for sure. I am glad your Mom is able to be with you and help you. If you need someone to talk to please email me at: sue123@twmi.rr.com.
Posted on Hi gal. We are here to help in any we can.
Hug Sherri
Posted on Hi Lauren, welcome to a community you wish you never had to be a part of! Actually, this blog has been a great way to get info out to all of my family and friends so that my phone isn’t ringing constantly and I don’t have to spend all day emailing everyone individually with updates. I have B-cell A.L.L. and am finishing the last round of my 6 months of chemo. I can’t remember the name of my protocol right now but if you want I can look it up for you. I am not sure how different yours is from mine since yours is for childhood ALL? Mine was designed for people in my age group, basically young adults 18-45, and since I have no abnormal cytogenetics my prognosis is really good. Tell your parents not to freak out about the prognosis that they find in info online because those numbers include all kinds of people over 65 who die from this disease or from an infection they couldn’t catch in time.
I could go on and on with things I learned through this. The worst part is feeling isolated and that your normal life has completely stopped. I am here if you ever feel alone and need to talk or have a question. Check out my blog postings for info or to see how I felt during certain chemo treatments. There are lots of resources out there for young people with cancer that no one told me about when I was diagnosed. Buy the book “Crazy, Sexy, Cancer” by Kris Carr. There are lots of tips in there as well as websites to check out, and it will make you feel less alone.
Kick some cancer ass, girl!
Josi
Posted on Hi Lauren –
Thanks for setting up this blog – it is a great way for everyone in the family to keep up with your progress. We all love you very much and are keeping you in our thoughts!
xoxo
Aunt Cindy and Uncle Jack
Hi Lauren, I have T-cell ALL also. I was diagnosed April 28th 2008 at the age of 28. I’m glad you are responding to the chemo therapy and seem to be in good spirits about the situation. I am taking one day at a time and am pretty optimistic about the whole thing, even though I have yet to respond to chemo. My wife and daughters on the other hand are not taking it as well as I am. Understandable though. Hope your still doing well and are still in remission. If you want to take a quick look at my story, go to www.jgraves311.blogspot.com .
Jeff Graves
Thanks for your support - 
Lauren that is such great news! I’m so excited for you! Remission is such a great Xmas gift! Have a super holidays! ...Grace
Hi Lauren,
My name is Jennifer and I’m an associate producer for the Montel Williams Show. I read your blog and am really inspired by your courage and would like to speak to you about sharing your story. Please contact me when you get a chance at j_stryker@montelshow.com. Thank you.
Jennifer