Each year, the Team in Training races in honor of a cancer survivor. This year our survivor is also a teammate! He is racing the Life Time Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis.
Josh was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) on Tuesday May 22, 2007. He went into his family doctor on Monday because his stomach hadn't been feeling right for quite some time. Josh went in for a CAT Scan on Tuesday morning. Right after the CAT Scan, Josh met with the doctor for the results, and was told that he had CML. Josh's white blood cell count was 240,000 when it should only be 10,000. Josh had a bone marrow biopsy and started on the drug Gleevec, which was developed with research funded by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Now, three years later, Josh is in remission! He still takes Gleevec twice a day, but is back racing triathlons again!
Leukemia is a malignant disease (cancer) of the bone marrow and blood. It is characterized by the uncontrolled accumulation of blood cells. Leukemia is divided into four categories: myelogenous or lymphocytic, each of which can be acute or chronic. The terms myelogenous or lymphocytic denote the cell type involved.
Acute leukemia is a rapidly progressing disease that results in the accumulation of immature, functionless cells in the marrow and blood. Chronic leukemia progresses more slowly and allows greater numbers of more mature, functional cells to be made. The marrow often can no longer produce enough normal red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Anemia, a deficiency of red cells, develops in virtually all leukemia patients. The lack of normal white cells impairs the body's ability to fight infections. A shortage of platelets results in bruising and easy bleeding.
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