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adventure, Anger, appointments, Babies, Blogging, Cancer, CML, Depression, Diagnosis, Dreams, Emotions, Family, Help, Journey, Kids, Leukemia, Life, love, Medications, mental-health, Support, writing
Just a quick post.
I have Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). I was diagnosed back in 2014. I’m not going to lie—when I first heard those words, I thought my world had come to an end.
I was devastated.
I got depressed.
I was angry at everything and everyone.
I couldn’t even carry on a simple conversation without it turning into something it didn’t need to be. In short, I wasn’t exactly easy to live with.
The truth is, everything I felt is something a lot of people experience when they hear the word “cancer.” That flood of emotions hits hard. But what I’ve learned since then is this—there is always hope, no matter the diagnosis.
I follow several CML groups online, and I try to help people who are just starting this journey and struggling to process it all.
Last night, I came across a post from a young woman who had just been diagnosed with CML. She was going through the same emotions I went through—fear, anger, and the overwhelming feeling that her life was over. She had just gotten married and was planning to start a family, but now she was ready to give up on that dream. Her husband, loving her the way he does, was willing to give that up, too.
That hit me.
So I reached out to her privately.
I told her what I wish someone had made crystal clear to me in the beginning: things have changed. Years ago, this diagnosis looked very different. Today, it’s not the same story.
There are medications now that can control this disease. It may not be something that just disappears, but it’s something many people live with—and live well with.
I also told her I understood exactly what she was feeling, because I had been there—the anger, the depression, the uncertainty. And I let her know she didn’t have to go through it alone.
And I told her about this blog—about my life after diagnosis, the ups and downs, the fishing trips, the everyday moments. I wanted her to see that there is still a life to live after hearing those words.
Honestly, I didn’t expect a response.
But she wrote back.
And after several messages, I could tell something had shifted. Knowing that someone else had been walking this road since 2014—and is still here—gave her a different perspective. It even made her reconsider the idea that her future, including having a family, might not be over after all.
That right there is why I share my story.
CML is not a death sentence. It’s a bump in the road. A big one sometimes—but not a roadblock.
My numbers still go up and down like a rollercoaster. Some months are good, some aren’t. But it’s been that way long enough that it doesn’t shake me like it used to.
Life goes on.
And that’s exactly what I told her—live your life. Keep your appointments. Take your medication. Listen to your doctor.
But don’t stop living.
Because this diagnosis doesn’t mean the end of your story.
Grayfeathersblog 