The Blood Cancer Experience

Living with a chronic blood cancer can bring uncertainty, questions and a need for support that lasts well beyond diagnosis.

In this episode, Nelly shares her experience living with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), offering an honest look at treatment, side effects and daily life (including raising her three sons.)

Joined by hematologist Dr. Lynn Savoie, we explore chronic blood cancers like CML and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), including how they’re diagnoses, treated and managed over time.

Visit our website for more information on CLL and CML.
Looking for support? Our team is here to help. Contact us today.

CAR T-cell therapy is a last line of treatment for some blood cancers that resist other treatments. A form of personalized medicine, CAR-T is saving lives like that of single parent Camille Leahy, diagnosed in 2020 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Her cancer returned after chemotherapy, radiation, and stem cell transplantation, and CAR-T saved her life. Camille shares her experience in this podcast.

As well, Dr. Sita Bhella, hematologist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, discusses what is involved in the medical procedure, and the exciting progress in CAR-T in its manufacture and access in Canada.

For more information about a new (pilot) virtual support group for Canadian adults who have received or are medically referred for CAR T-cell therapy, visit:

https://www.bloodcancers.ca/support-groups

"I'm an example of what can be done for someone with multiple myeloma," says David Johnson, of B.C., first diagnosed with the disease in 2012 in his early 50s. Having had 2 relapses, 2 stem cell transplants, and participated in a clinical trial for CAR T-cell therapy, David is in remission today. He helps others in the blood cancer community by volunteering for couple of programs at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada.

Also in this podcast, Dr. Anthony Reiman, a medical oncologist at St. John Regional Hospital in New Brunswick, talks about advances in recent years in treatment for and longevity of people with multiple myeloma.

For more information about this form of blood cancer, please visit:https://www.bloodcancers.ca/i-have-blood-cancer/myeloma/multiple-myeloma

Graft vs Host Disease, known as GvHD, is a side effect of a life-saving procedure. People who undergo an allogeneic stem cell transplant - where a donor's stem cells are transplanted into the recipient - can experience either acute or chronic GvHD.

Listen to blood cancer survivor Libby Goszer who shares her coping strategies for living with chronic GvHD, a condition she describes as "a continual rollercoaster ride that has both expected and unexpected twists and turns." The B.C. resident has lived with cGvHD for 16 years; she's learned to enjoy the 'ride' of her life as a mom, wife, professional, and volunteer.

Also in this episode, a Canadian hematologist-oncologist and a specialist in GvHD, Dr. Kirk Schultz talks about chronic as well as acute GvHD, symptoms, and advances in medical treatments.

Read more about GvHD from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC) with these easy-to-understand, short factsheets:

Understanding GvHD -

https://www.bloodcancers.ca/sites/default/files/2024-10/lls1768-f-fs-gvhd-understand-e03.pdf

Treating GvHD -

https://www.bloodcancers.ca/sites/default/files/2024-10/lls1769-c-fs-gvhd-treating-e02.pdf

If you have any questions about your blood cancer experience, or that of a loved one, please reach out for personalized support from a trained LLSC community worker in your region. Find their contact information at:

https://www.bloodcancers.ca/i-have-blood-cancer/how-we-can-help/access-one-one-personalized-support

You are not alone.

It may be the first time you've talked about your blood cancer, since your diagnosis, with anyone outside immediate family, or it may be after years of living with cancer... Either way, the LLSC community services lead in your region is ready to listen and support you in any way you need. Geoffrey Molle, one of those leads, talks about the confidential, safe space he creates for anyone impacted by a blood cancer, in this podcast episode.

Tziona Lugasi, clinical psychologist in the hemato-oncology department at CHU Sainte-Justine, talks about the impact of cancer on children, teens and their parents, and the transition from pediatric care to adult health care.

Maura C. had recently returned to work after maternity leave when her daughter, then 15 months old, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and immediately admitted to the oncology ward. “This is a nightmare I’m not waking up from,” Maura thought over the 5 months her toddler was in the hospital. She says she and her husband moved from their initial “fight-or-flight” mode, to chronic anxiety – both over the treatment period and afterwards when “we felt anxiety about the cancer coming back.” 

Maura acknowledges that support for mental health was important for her. "Our family doctor was an ally and a resource,” she says, “and I had an "amazing therapist" to deal with marriage strain challenges as well, and support from close friends and her parents. 

Are you a parent of a child with blood cancer? Find resources and support here:

https://www.bloodcancers.ca/i-care-someone-blood-cancer/blood-cancers-kids-teens-young-adults/childhood-blood-cancers#for-parents-and-caregivers

The emotional cost of caregiving when a loved one has a blood cancer is no small matter – as Saskatchewan’s Lori Galbraith can attest. The mother of four was the caregiver of her husband Jim, who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and underwent a stem cell transplant.

“The hardest part was providing positive emotional support [to my husband] when I was worried and wondering if I’d ever get back the husband I had prior to AML... I’m trying to support him through it all – but what do I do with my thoughts?” Lori says in this podcast.

Are you caring for someone with a blood cancer? The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada has support, services, and resources for caregivers, including a peer-to-peer support program. Visit:⁠ https://www.bloodcancers.ca/i-care-someone-blood-cancer⁠

The term, “palliative approach to care” refers to a person-centered, holistic approach including emotional, spiritual, social and psychological care, offered by a larger team of healthcare professionals (beyond doctors and nurses) and introduced earlier in a cancer experience for full integration into an individual’s care plan.