I feel your pain. I was healthy as a horse just 3 months ago. I went to my doctor complaining of fatigue and exhaustion. The next day, I was admitted into the hospital, and I have been here going on 2 1/2 months now. I never imagined in a million years that I would ever get cancer. Talk about a life changer. Treasure your life! It all can be taken away from you in an instant.

I find it interesting in how he was responded to and treated (professional, listened to his opinion etc.) vs so many women on here that share their story.

I was diagnosed with AML 6 years ago. Induction was unsuccessful. Ended up in a trial. Saved my life, did bmt and am still here ! Never give up ! You are part of the group of survivors.

The similarities between your situation and mine are remarkable. I had recently retired as an attorney and also had some problematic blood work in an annual physical, which for me was low platelets, and was referred to a hematologist/oncologist. The hematologist I first saw immediately diagnosed me, just based on blood work he did, with MDS, Myelodysplastic Syndrome, and said it was unaggressive and not to worry too much, but to come back to see him again in six months. That didn't sound right because this more recent blood work was off much more than my original problematic blood work, as now my white cells and hemoglobin were out of range as well as my platelets, which were lower than before. So I sought a second opinion from another hematologist who seemed much more concerned as he ordered a bone marrow biopsy which showed I had AML with the MECOM mutation. Like you I neglected to do much research on AML after getting the diagnosis, as I was worried that I would find it depressing and discouraging. After the diagnosis, I was referred to the top cancer hospital in the region, MD Anderson in Houston, and they took me and set up a treatment plan as quickly as they could. At first they tried an experimental treatment, which didn't work, and then they gave me standard of care which I think was quite similar to what you received. That knocked my blasts down quite a bit, to under five, and so I qualified for an allogeneic (donor) stem cell transplant, which involved a four week process and hospital stay which I started a couple of weeks later. That was nine months ago and my bone marrow biopsies have been clear since the transplant so fingers crossed it worked as intended.

You sound like a remarkable human being.... pragmatic, courageous, caring..... All the best to the transplant survivor you now are!!!

So happy to hear you’re a cancer survivor…..Thank God!!! I love to hear you’re giving back by volunteering ❤❤❤

I'm going through this battle now. Staying strong and trying to get through. I know I have a long way to go!

You’ve just made me appreciate my life, health and feel contented with my lot! You are truly an inspiration. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story and recovery. I wish you a long and happy life. ❤

This guy is one of the best patient stories I've heard so far. There's just something about how he speaks that really pulls me in

Same here. Lack of symptoms, same day hospitalization, the whole 9 yards, only back in 2010. After my second round of chemo failed to eradicate my cancer enough to do a transplant a doctor on rounds said I might as well go home and make my peace. Fortunately for me he was off schedule the next day and I opted to go a 3rd salvage round that according to him would have killed me. Thank my luck stars. Astute people may notice that I'm still here telling my story 13 years later. I won't say that walking is THE key to surviving this, but my doctor said from his experience those who walked had the better survival rates, so walk as much as you can force yourself to do. And if they have you on pills of Cyclosporin insist they give you it in liquid form instead. The former smells like skunk and will make you too nauseated to even think of eating or taking your pills. The liquid is nothing like that.

So glad that you are better You had such a good attitude from the start. Bless you for helping others with cancer. When you have a life-threatening illness, it helps so much to have a person who is knowledgeable and truly helpful. Even well-intentioned friends, etc., may try to be helpful but really can't. I have several autoimmune diseases (not to compare these with cancer at all), but I hear so many unsolicited comments/advice from people that are often dismissive and sometimes hurtful, because they don deal with it. Praying for a complete remission for you and all others facing cancer. .

Really interesting. The mind body connection was important here. Such a great attitude & very articulate description of what he was feeling & how he approached things. Great advocate for cancer patients! Happy for the outcome & the giving back is so wonderful..👍🏼❤️👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Wow! Great interview. So much helpful info. Thank you.

Prayers for your journey🙏🏻

Very nice story! I admire his thinking.

thank you for sharing your story. I hope your mental and physical health thrive.

I love your train of thought….thank you for sharing your experience with us. Sending you and yours love and prayers💕

An incredible testimony 🙏 thank you for sharing ❤

May the Good Lord bless and heal you fully. Amen

This is so good. I wish I could share this with somebody I know who has amml. I cannot! Is it possible to remove the prognosis part of the conversation from the video? Because one of the first thing that you suggest is not to think about prognosis. Maybe you can publish another patient specific version. Thank you!

Seek the Lord and thank Him for His healing power. Grow strong in your faith in Him.

Very great ❤

Very inspiring, Steve! Out of curiosity: how low was your WBC actually when they found ihr it’s too low?

So glad they found it. What a wonderful Doctor. I’m wondering how low was very low white blood count? I just now had my blood counts come back with low, just out of normal range WBC. Also high RDWsd (just out of normal range) I have a family history of Dyskeratosis Congenita (DC) where 8 family members have died from aplastic anemia and pulmonary fibrosis. I’m worried but my PCP said “see you in a year” 😳

Steve can I ask you question, just saw your story which is very inspiring, how low was your wbc , I recently got bloodwork done and my wbc is 3.85 against range of 4.5-11, getting lot of anxiety

I went for a hip transplant and the day before the surgery they said my bloodwork was bad and referred me to a hematologist who did a bone marrow biopsy which confirmed my leukemia diagnosis in 2019. I am in remission but take oral chemo twice daily for my CML.

I have absolute myelocytes in my blood but my wbc is normal so idk.

Same here, went in for a routine yearly physical and now my world has been turned upside down. 🥺🤬

Any vaccines in recent history?

🙏🏿🙏🏿

I tweeted Jeff Bridges and told him and he cured his cancer too !!!

❤❤❤

Curious what vaccines he's had during his life. My mom developed an autoimmune issue they are treating as lupus due to years and years of the flu shot.

a completely new environment does wonders, even if it is the hospital

Did you question if they had the right name on the results, knowing you had no symptoms?

🤍

I even cured my cat’s cataract blindness in 3 days!!!