For Young Detroit Photographer Extreme Back and Stomach Pains That Left Him Unable ‘To Do Anything’ Turned Out To Be Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)
By Danielle Cinone,
18 days agoUnderstanding Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)
- Detroit-based photographer Vuhlandes was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer known as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) after a bout with extreme lower back pain and stomach pain left him unable to walk, prompting him to go to the hospital.
- Despite being diagnosed with an aggressive from of blood and bone marrow, Vuhlandes has maintained a positive outlook on his cancer journey, something many people battling cancer can look up to.
- Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, is a type of leukemia where the bone marrow makes too many immature lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. It is also called acute lymphocytic leukemia.
- Dr. Zuri Murrell of Cedars-Sinai says optimism helps a cancer patient’s prognosis. He previously told SurvivorNet, “A positive attitude is really important.”
- Psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik tells SurvivorNet that there is no “one right way” to seek support while coping with a diagnosis. She adds some people are comfortable talking openly about their diagnosis, while others prefer to keep it private, and both approaches are normal.
- She encourages those close to a person going through cancer to be respectful of their wishes when it comes to how they are comfortable seeking support
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Learning More About Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)
Being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) can be emotionally overwhelming. Patients and their loved ones will typically have many questions about the disease and how it will affect them. Dr. Olalekan Oluwole , a hematologist with Vanderbilt University Medical Center, spoke with SurvivorNet in a previous interview to answer some of the most frequent questions people have after an ALL diagnosis. What Is Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)? Dr. Oluwole says many times people worry that they might pass the disease on to other family members and wonder how they got it in the first place. He explained that in most causes it’s a quiet mutation that causes the leukemia. RELATED: A TikTok User Who is "Trying to Make Cancer Cool" Beats Leukemia Three Times; Inspires His Nearly 100,000 Followers “It is often not something that is heritable,” Dr. Oluwole told SurvivorNet. “If there happens to be a pattern in a certain family, many times that may be maybe because they were in the same environment. ‘I got exposed to the same thing, right?’ So it is not necessarily something that is heritable or like some of the other cancers, some of the other genes that we know about things like breast cancer. ALL is not like that." He said another question he hears frequently is what if people do nothing after a diagnosis. "The ALL grows very, very fast. If we don’t do anything, it will cause somebody to die within a few weeks," Dr. Oluwole says, stressing the importance of immediate care. All About Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) — The Most Common Questions About the Disease He says many times the leukemia is rested in the bone marrow, and because it is an abnormal growth, it just keeps dividing. "It doesn’t follow rules, and it doesn’t stop," he told SurvivorNet. "Not only that, because this is part of the immune system, the immune system is sorta like the police of the body. So those abnormal cells that have now become cancer, they have the ability to go to many places. They go into the blood, and they often go into the tissue or the lining around the brain." RELATED: ‘The Voice’ Contestant Andrew Marshall On His Leukemia Battle at 16 and How Meeting John Mayer Got Him Through Dark Times "By the time somebody comes to us and they have ALL we already assume that it has gone everywhere in the body, and we have to treat them like that," Dr. Oluwole says. He says many patients present with fever or infections because the bone marrow has "failed in its ability to make other types of blood cells." As for support after such a life-changing diagnosis, he says there are trained professionals such as have case managers and hospital navigators exist to aid people through their cancer journeys. "Cancer is a really life-changing diagnosis and we would like our patients to know they don’t have to feel as if they are on their own."Focusing on the Positive Amid Cancer
Vuhlandes' positive attitude while battling cancer is something we can all admire. He's managed to keep an upbeat mindset through his diagnosis with an aggressive form of cancer. This is something Dr. Zuri Murrell of Cedars-Sinai says helps a cancer patient’s prognosis. He previously told SurvivorNet, "A positive attitude is really important." WATCH: Staying positive matters. “My patients who thrive, even with stage 4 cancer, from the time that they, about a month after they’re diagnosed, I kind of am pretty good at seeing who is going to be OK. Now doesn’t that mean I’m good at saying that the cancer won’t grow,” Dr. Murrell says. Focusing on the positive is part of positive psychology. According to Dr. Samantha Boardman , a New York-based psychiatrist, positive psychology means focusing on encouraging feelings and finding what brings you a sense of vitality, as opposed to focusing on the illness. For example, Noelle Kouris was only 34 years old when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Similar to Mendes’ mom, she kept a positive attitude during cancer treatment and turned to humor to keep herself going. WATCH: "F*ck You, Cancer But I Say It With A Smile" Ovarian Cancer Survivor Noelle Kouris Shares Her Story “I just tried to smile every day that I walked into the center,” Kouris previously told SurvivorNet. “The nurses used to tell me that I had this light about me. And I would try to crack jokes all the time at chemo. I would just smile, and offer somebody a smile because some people were there by themselves and had nobody by their side. So, if I offered them a smile, hopefully, it brought some positivity to their day,” she continued. Mendes and Kouris are not the only ones who hasve learned the importance of positivity during caregiving or their own cancer battle. Jesus Trejo is a stand-up comedian in Long Beach, California. He became a caregiver for both of his parents after his mother was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor and his father was later faced with colon cancer. But instead of panicking and focusing on the devastating nature of the situation, the only child stepped up to care for his parents with love and laughter. In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Trejo explained how he put his career aside to care for his parents in their time of need while making time to smile along the way. Stand-Up Comedian & Cancer Caregiver Jesus Trejo Reminds Us That ‘Laughter is a Game-Changer’ “The only advice I have for anyone watching this is laugh and laugh often, laugh at yourself. Don’t take yourself seriously. Things are already bad. Because once you do that, it’s a game-changer,” Trejo told SurvivorNet. He also says the laughter itself might be brief, but “the effects of it just reverberate through your body, and can change an already bad situation into a better one.” Meanwhile, Dr. Dana Chase, a Gynecologic Oncologist at UCLA Health, also says it’s important to try to focus on the good, stay positive, and do things that bring you joy to the degree you’re able to do so amid battling a disease like cancer. “We know, actually from good studies, that emotional health, quality of life is associated with survival, meaning better quality of life is associated with better survival, better outcomes,” Dr. Chase said in an earlier interview. SurvivorNetTV Presents: Maintaining a Positive HeadspaceOpening Up About a Diagnosis
Some people battling a disease or cancer are open to sharing their experiences as much as they can, while others, like Vuhlandes initially did, prefer to keep it to themselves or close loved ones. SurvivorNet experts say both approaches and everything in between, are valid. RELATED: Check Out SurvivorNet’s Resources on Mental Health WATCH: Sharing a Diagnosis “Patients who have just been diagnosed with cancer sometimes wonder how they are going to handle the diagnosis of the cancer in social situations,” psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik explains. Questions like “How much information should they share and with whom should they share the information?” are things Plutchik says patients take into consideration. Dr. Plutchik explains, "There is no one right way to handle this diagnosis. People should do what feels right to them.” A cancer journey can last months to years, which means cancer warriors may be experiencing a lot of uncertainty until they fully understand where their health stands. This uncertainty can influence when a cancer patient is ready to share their diagnosis, Dr. Plutchik further explained. Dr. Plutchik stresses that those close to a person going through cancer should be respectful of their wishes when it comes to disclosing their diagnosis and seeking support. Deciding When and Who to Tell About My Diagnosis Became a Burden Contributing: SurvivorNet StaffWelcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.
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