I was diagnosed with CLL in 2006, I am on a watch and wait programme. I have also suffered with chest/lung problems for which I was prescribed inhalers, antibiotics and steroids in the past. I am a 70year old female. I try to keep a positive mind and do Yoga twice weekly, I do feel that Yoga and positive thinking are helping and I have ceased using inhalers and have not had any chest infections for about a year. However I know that my CLL may change and I may need treatment in later years but I don't dwell on that! I am told that most people with CLL die with the condition, rather than from it. I was also told that CLL is the easiest form of Leukaemia to treat, not curable, but is treatable!
I am very sorry to hear about both of your situations. At the same time, I also can relate because my husband has CLL, too. He was diagnosed on 2/18/05....less than 2 months before our wedding.
Before I go on, I just wanted to clarify one thing about CLL. Even though it's called the "leukemia of elderly men"(or so I've read), considering it effects older males more often & the average age at time of diagnosis is 72 y/o(per the American Cancer Society), not every person who is diagnosed with CLL is "elderly", "male", or 50 y/o or older. In fact, my husband was only 43(!!!) when he was diagnosed in 2005.
Also, while I understand the reasons for the "watch-and-wait" phase of treatment, please don't make the same mistake my husband & I did by believing your loved one's situation will go exactly like "the average case", or that the "watch-and-wait" thing will go on for a loooooonnnnnnnnggggggg time. When my husband was diagnosed, we were told by his oncologist, and verbatim, "Most patients don't need treatment for 10-15 years after being diagnosed". So one can understand & imagine our surprise when, just 6 weeks ago, we were told by this same oncologist that it was in my husband's "best interest" to begin a 6-8 month regimen of chemo and ASAP(like the following week) because of his enlarging spleen. My husband hadn't even been diagnosed 3 years yet, at that point!!
Lastly, I couldn't agree more with what whiskeysipper said about positive attitudes & decreasing the stress levels. The last thing our loved ones or their bodies need is to be under more unnecessary stress. Therefore, if we maintain our own positive & healthy attitudes, it will (hopefully) help our loved ones to do the same.
Hello,
I am also sorry to hear about your sister. I was dx in 1996 with CLL. Never took it serious. I always felt fine. They usually start out with the w/w ( watch & wait). Then if needed they treat you... I w/w for a couple years. Then started some chemo in pill form went right on to work. Still I did not believe anything was wrong with me. I even had a 3 year remission. Alittle later my lymph nodes started to swell under my arms and I had to take some chemo in a IV. Still I went on to work . I never had any problems with the chemo's. I would take them and go home and do what I wanted to as usual. So your sister is doing the right things. You have to have a positive attitude. 10% of your brain tells your body when to walk, talk, stand & sit . Other 90% needs not to be under stress or depression. Different and new medicine is coming forth every day.. Have Faith
Sorry to hear that. My sister just diagnosed with CLL last week. She is 60 years old. I just started to read about it. She also was told by her doctor that she doesn't have to do anything now but doing blood test every 3 months. My understanding it that there is no cure for CLL but they can control it by Chemo or even bone marrow transplant if it is neccesary. But CLL is the best and th emost common kind of Leukemia. It is very slow growig process and people live with it for years. They just have to be tested often. The immune system is weaker than normal people so they have to be under watch by doctor to avoid any complication. The CLL happens in people more than 50 years old. This all I have found out by now. I am doing more research on line to find out more. I think she is doing a right thing. keeping her sprit up. You should be doing the same. Be there for her and spport her in any way. It would be all right as her doctor said. Norah