Keeler Leukemia Update – My One-Month Progress Report

I'd like to take a moment to clear up the latest details regarding my recent cancer diagnosis. In June, I was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia and on July 5th, I started oral chemotherapy pills as part of a trial at Roswell Cancer Center in Buffalo.

First, I am so lucky that I was diagnosed when I was - so very early - and that I was at the Chronic stage of Myeloid Leukemia. The next level of the disease is Acute Myeloid Leukemia which includes the Blast phase of the disease (far more difficult to treat).

I spoke with a fellow patient fr9m Alabama on Saturday and he explained that when he was diagnosed, his white blood count was at 160,000. Because I was lucky enough to have been diagnosed at now seems to be the perfect time, my WBC level was at 26. Still, my number was high enough to alert my doctor who put me on the path to quickly find treatment.

When my general practitioner flagged my numbers, he warned me that it could be Leukemia. He was right. The good news was that my numbers were low and I was considered lower risk at the time, but still needed a bone marrow biopsy to determine the severity of the disease. I went through those tests to realize that there is nob cure for this disease, however, there is a chance to get close to remission, and too ultimately live a live as long as someone without cancer.

On July 6th, I started the trial and began taking the medicine. I have to be honest, it was difficult and I experienced several side effects that made me wonder if this medicine was ever going to work.

Here's the good news: the medicine is working. A normal white blood count is between 4 and 11, my count was slightly high at 26. Still, it was enough to flag my results for additional analysis. Following one month of treatment, my numbers decreased from 26 to 16, to 13, to 6 not 3. The fact is, if I were to have bloodwork today, it would not show any abnormality and I would be given a clean bill of health. This is great news because it means I can still stay on the trial and still continue to receive meds that will fight-off this deadly disease.

I may have my ups and downs and I may disagree with certain decisions in the art world; however, at the end of the day, I'm absolutely supporting the place I call home.