" Each day is a gift...treasure each wonderful thing in life and focus on the good things, not the bad. When you do this, you can truly apprecite the blessing which life really is!"

A little about me...

Hi! My name is Andrea. I am 22 years old. I am a social worker who serves children and adolescents with developtmental disabilities. Some of my hobbies and interests... running marathons, sports, hiking, .

Information about my illness...

In 1986, when I was 8 years old, I was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. I was treated at Children's Hospital, Washington DC and NIH (Bethesda MD). I had radiation, chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.

My words to others...

My suggestions to other survivors are... Take one day at a time...focus only in the immediate future. Learn how to take control of your body to maintain health as much as possible.

The most important lesson I learned from my experience is... There are no guarantees in life and each day and experience is special. Treasure everything you do, see, hear and smell as if it was the last time you would get to.

A positive outcome from my experience is... I learned about the precariousness of life. Life is not something to be taken advantage of!

" I relapsed at the age of 12. I had to decide whether i wanted to go through with a bone marrow transplant which had a mere 10% chance of survival for 6 months or just stop all treatment and let nature take it's course. My best friend Rachel (who was battling AIDS at the age of 10) told me to never give up, regardless of how small my chance for survival was. She reminded me that ANY whance I had, no matter how small, was a chance and that there were people like herself who were not so lucky. I had the transplant and, because of it, am alive and doing extremely well today. Rachel passed away about two years after my transplant yet she will always be my best friend and guardian angel....I love you Rachel :). "