HOUSTON – Approximately every 3 minutes, one person in the U.S. is diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma. These are blood and bone marrow cancers.
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In the Summer of 2022, Houstonian Anuj Patel was one of them. He was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The cancer is very aggressive and spreads quickly. Doctors only discovered it when Patel had trouble catching his breath doing normal things like taking a walk or riding his bike.
“In May, I had a full physical and checked out,” Patel explained. I went back and looked. All of my blood counts were normal.” By August, he said doctors told him 80% of his bone marrow cells were cancerous.
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Patel started chemotherapy within 5 days. His 2 young sons were at sleep-away camp when he was diagnosed and when he began treatment.
They first spoke on video call when they got back home.
Anuj’s wife Peri Patel said they were immediately inundated with appointments and information. Anuj’s life depended on the two of them understanding terms and treatments they knew nothing about.
“I tell people it’s like learning 5 different languages in about a week’s amount of time because it’s a whole different set of terms and medicines and treatments.. and it’s just like a crash course in how quickly can you learn 5 languages,” Peri said.
After months of treatment, Anuj found a match for a bone marrow transplant. The transplant in January 2023 was successful, and Anuj is now cancer-free.
“I’m grateful to all the thousands of people that were required to save my life,” Anuj said.
“To be treated that way and to know that people genuinely care about you and your family and your life, that went so far for both of us,” said Peri, who admits her family was so fortunate to have help and resources most patients don’t.
It’s why the Patels are raising awareness and money for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. IThey started with a goal of $50,000 to pay for a research grant in Anuj’s name.
They have already surpassed that goal, but they are still raising money through May 31st. If you want to support LLS, you can donate to this link.
To read more about all of the ways LLS supports patients and they families and provides funding for cancer research, click here.