Two weeks ago I got a call from my doctor, who I’d gone to see the day before because I’d been feeling worn out and was losing weight, and wasn’t sure why.
He was brief: “Amit, you’ve got Acute Leukemia. You need to enter treatment right away.”
I was terrified. I packed a backpack full of clothes, went to the hospital as he’d instructed, and had transfusions through the night to allow me to take a flight home at 7am the next day. I Googled acute leukemia as I lay in my hospital bed, learning that If it hadn’t been caught, it would have died within weeks.
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I have a couple more months of chemo to go, then the next step is a bone marrow transplant. As Jay and Tony describe below, minorities are severely underrepresented in the bone marrow pool, and I need help.
A few ways to help:
- If you’re South Asian, get a free test by mail. You rub your cheeks with a cotton swab and mail it back. It’s easy.
- If you’re in NYC, you can go to this event my friends are putting on.
- If you know any South Asians, please point ‘em to the links above. Thank you.
:( :( :(
I’ve been in the bone marrow registry since I was 18 but I don’t think I can do it anymore because I’ve had sex with men and they don’t let you give blood but maybe I still can?
They haven’t called me in a while. I think I’m still registered? I guess I should call.
God I am so terrified of getting young guy cancer. I’ve had an undiagnosed inflamed lymph node (though an ENT told me it’s probably nothing) for a few years and I probably don’t have cancer but man the idea of cancer makes me so sad.
(Source: jayparkinsonmd)
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