Submissions to "Patients' Stories" cannot be verified for their accuracy.  They do not necessarily represent validated medical research.  The reader should understand that these stories represent only the opinions of the authors and not the Hairy Cell Leukemia Research Foundation.

I am Diane Lindsey.  I was diagnosed with hairy cell leukemia on December 30, 2005.  I  am now 9 months cancer free.  My story starts last year.  I went to work thinking I  had the flu.  I thought  if I went to work, I would feel better.  I went in at 3am since we open at 4am.  I work on a army base, Yonsan in Korea.  When I got to work, I felt sick .  I  had no energy.  By 5am, I called my boss and asked him to come in.  When my coworkers took over for me, my husband took me to the 121 combat hospital on base.  I walked into the ER and passed out.  They had to put me on a gurney and hook me up to an IV.  I was really dehydrated.  It was strange, because I had been drinking 4qts of water each day.  They did blood work, and the doctor told me that I had some type of cancer and it is really not good.  I felt a sense of calm come over me.  I did not worry because I knew it would be fine.

Another doctor arrived and said, "Oh, my God.  She only has a third of the blood in her body.  Everything is shutting down.  We need to transfuse her now.  Meanwhile, they rechecked the blood which confirmed it was some form of leukemia.  The doctor gave me 2 to 5 years to live, if I made it through the week.  Everyone worked hard to stabilize me.  I still felt a sense of calm and did not panic.  I knew that it would be okay.  After 5 transfusions, they transferred  me to Samsung Medical Center here in Korea. 

The doctors at Samsung did a bone marrow scan and a CAT scan.  The oncologist then diagnosed the leukemia as hairy cell leukemia.  He said it is treatable but that I was in bad shape.   I was told that I needed to make it through the  week.  I did, and I stayed at the hospital 53 days.  It is one the top cancer treatment centers in the world.

I was really sick with my feet and legs swollen.  I had developed hematomas on my inner thighs.  It was a really trying time.  Rick Warren's Purpose Driven Life, kept me sane.  In addition, I had the support of family and friends.  The second week of February, I did the 2-CdA (Leustatin) chemotherapy.  Although my skin shed like a snake, I had no other side effects.  When I came home, the chemotherapy would come out as dry patches on my skin.  When I had the chemotherapy, I remember a smell of the chemotherapy in my system.  That stopped after 2 months.  My doctor tells me that I should live life.  Because of my cancer, we did a cancer survivor walk on June  4, 2005.  We have also started a cancer support group.  This in short my story.  It was a great experience and I learned that I am not in control.  I know that I must give up to God to deal with my life.  Have faith!