1. A Brief Introduction To My Adventures With CLL/SLL

Hello friends, family, fellow survivors, and others who are interested in fighting the beast known as Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia also known as CLL/SLL.

To update you a little on my background with this disease, I was officially diagnosed October 9, 2009.  However, thinking back on things I am sure I had been living with this for close to a year, or more, before my official diagnosis. 

What led me to seek medical help for this was a sometimes unforgiving pain in my left side, night sweats, loss of appetite, and fatigue.  I went to see my general doctor about all of this as I was after all, overdue for a checkup.   His checkup found an abnormally high white blood count (WBC), and suggested I see a Hematologist for further tests and recommended me to one.

So off my wife and I went to visit one, which also surprised us was a cancer doctor called an Oncologist.  Had a lot of blood drawn, and had me sit down and wait for about 45 minutes to an hour.   With a lab on site you can get results that quick.  When he had the results in we were called back into the exam room.  Where he said in the most calm voice, that preliminary tests show that you have Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.  Were going to have this double and triple checked and he will get two other hematologists to agree before we proceed.

All I could think was what was this?  Leukemia!  Isn't this a child's disease?  Then he explained that what I have is an adults Leukemia.  It usually effects those between 50 and 70 years of age, sometimes people in their 40's can get it, but it is rare for that.

I said to him (at time of this diagnosis I was only 52).  I have been healthy my whole life, I don't smoke, rarely drink, don't do drugs.   What the hell is this.  He replied that things like this happen.  We don't know for sure what causes CLL/SLL yet, but it could be genetic, it could be environment, it could be exposure to chemicals, but these are just theories, we dont know for sure. 

He wanted us to come back the next day after the other opinions came in and we went home.  My head was swirling, I probably stayed up all night looking up stuff on the Internet about this.  My wife was devastated.  But I tried to stay strong.  All I could think of is how am I going to tell my mother, my children and other friends and family about this news. 

We went back to the clinic the next morning, and it was confirmed.  At my diagnosis I was to be thrown into a treatment plan within 2 weeks as I was told I was Stage 3.   The doctor told us that usually this is a slow progressing disease, and we can control it.  After this chemo most people get a remission of 3 to 5 years, then we treat it again.  More on treatments later.

As I have now become a 3 year survivor of this disease, I have decided to keep a blog to help me keep a perspective on my disease, treatments, and the like.  And to help others understand my disease and the treatments I have gone thru and will be going thru. 

The first few pages are a brief history about the last 3 years of my fight, kind of the readers digest version if you will.   But as the blog continues we will be going over some new chapters in this fight I continue to wage.

I want to thank my family and friends for their support thru this battle I have been waging.  Without all of you I don't know where I would be now.  I also want to thank my wife Debbie most of all for sticking with me, for being my caregiver, my rock.  I want to thank my children for helping their mother and me the best they can.

And I want to really give a shout out to my employer, Day & Nite Plumbing & Heating Inc.  They have really stuck by me all these years as they continue to keep me employed, keep me with a sense of purpose, and keep me as a part of the Day & Nite family.  I know some day I will be back in the saddle, and get back to full strength with the company. 

And a very special thank you to my friends and family at The Leukemia Lighthouse Connection, a face book group, that is here for support to all who have blood cancer or blood diseases. 

Thank you all for your support!

Never Ever Give Up (this is my new motto)!