Meet Our Honored Teammate!

DC Team’s Honored Teammate:
Sarah Tran

What can I say to a group of people who are willing to challenge themselves physically and emotionally for the
betterment of others? “Thank you” just doesn’t seem to cut it. I hope you understand just what truly amazing people you are. I am inspired by your efforts to help others and save lives.

I feel thrilled to be alive today and deeply honored to be your Honored Teammate. I owe my physical and
emotional recovery from leukemia to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS).

The beginning of my leukemia story was an extremely emotionally and physically trying time for me. Over a
period of about four weeks, I went from having excellent health to being barely able to move. I had a sore throat, cough, stiff neck, excruciating headache, six cold sores, weird pimples, and some bruises on my legs. The doctors had repeatedly assured me, a 28-year-old law student in the midst of final exams, that I was just stressed out. Finally (when I started crying and begging my doctor to do some tests), she ordered a blood test. The next day, I received multiple frantic messages from my doctors, urging me to head into the hospital right away. During my first few weeks in the hospital, it seemed like I got nothing but bad news. The doctors expressed no doubt that I had leukemia. Next I learned that I had one of the hardest to cure forms of leukemia: Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Two weeks later, my cytogenetics revealed that I had the worst prognosis for AML patients- I was in the very high risk group, which is uncommon in general and particularly for a 28 year old. According to my doctor, my likelihood for a cure hovered somewhere between 0-5% if I did not receive a bone marrow transplant and there was no guarantee that I would find a match for such a transplant. It was a lot to take in.

Coming to grips with the emotional rollercoaster of having leukemia took longer to get used to than the physical changes. In the first few days after being diagnosed, I wondered how much pain my death would cause my husband and daughter. Would my then two-year-old daughter even remember me?

LLS put me and my family on the path towards emotional recovery. LLS comforted my spouse and siblings
when they were afraid, introduced me to survivors to give me hope, and gave me $1,500 to assist with my climbing medical expenses. All that was left for me to focus on was getting better. The mantra "think positive" began to shift my perspective. I realized that I should appreciate each day as a new gift. Everyday I started envisioning myself whacking a ball with a bat, ready to beat the cancer to a pulp. I then started to receive good news. I had not just one, but two perfect matches for a bone marrow transplant. LLS introduced me to a bone marrow transplant survivor, who gave me faith that the transplant would cure me. I had the transplant on April 15, 2009. It couldn’t have gone better. I finished law school one year later and am now thrilled to be clerking for a federal judge.

Without the funding LLS gave towards research on bone marrow transplants and chemotherapy, I would never have survived. Without the support programs LLS offered to me and my family, I would have been too worried about the risk of dying or my medical bills to think positively. Your efforts to raise money for LLS is making a difference in thousands of lives. Thank you, thank you, thank you for saving lives like mine!

Sincerely,
Sarah Tran