Janine, second from left with her family.

I remember sitting in a doctor's office on that December morning almost four years ago, watching as the doctor entered with my blood test results.  The results would reveal I had AML leukemia. It still gives me chills just thinking about it. I was only 43 years-old and had no symptoms except a nasty cold that wouldn't go away. I was diagnosed after having some routine lab work, a repeat lab test, and finally a bone marrow biopsy. I was in total shock, as were my husband and three children.

I went into remission after the standard hospitalization and consolidation chemotherapy treatment, and after six months went back to work. At that time, my hematologist advised that my subtype of AML, although aggressive, was favorable and not initially treated with a bone marrow transplant. A transplant would be an option only if a relapse occurred. I was hoping to never ever hear those dreaded words again: "AML." However, approximately 15 months later the original leukemia came back along with a new mutation. I was devastated. My physician advised that for any chance of long-term survival, I would need an allogenic bone marrow transplant. So, I endured another long hospital stay and was put back in remission while my siblings were tested for a match. Thank God, my brother, Ed, was a perfect match! I had the transplant on November 26, 2013, at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. 

Janine and her brother Ed.

Janine in the hospital.

For more of Janine's  story  and tips to  navigating  the BMT 

journey.....visit www.nbmtlink.org