Hi @marytheresacll! I know you’re always so positive and trying not to worry about your health. This new change in your CLL status has you a little concerned, I’m sure. But outside of needing to start a treatment plan, this may not impact your life any more than it does now. You may have had this for many years before even being diagnosed.

The survival rate for CLL is better than for many other types of cancer and that isn’t including statistics with treatment. This is still a blood cancer that develops slowly and is generally managed with medications or targeted therapies. So even though there are changes taking place, your doctor has time to make the decisions about your treatment.

The doctor mentioned starting your treatment with one of the more common meds for CLL, Acalabrutinib (Calquence), which has been shown to be beneficial in treating CLL, even patients with variants. Seeing that you’ve not been receiving any treatment to this point, you may actually start experiencing fewer symptoms once you start taking the meds! I saw this happen with a neighbor a few years ago. He’d had CLL for about 10 years but I could tell he was getting less robust in his health. He started taking Calquence, and wow, he’s like a new man. He and his wife have 5 kids, he runs, bikes, works full time. You’d never know he has CLL.
I’d hate to have you give up pickle ball, walking and dancing! I go stir crazy when I can’t get out to walk daily. I think those daily activities that keep the blood flowing are so important to our health and well-being.

I want to learn to play pickleball but most of the people down here where we spend our winters are not appreciative of newbies… haha I don’t want to be pummeled like the geeky kid in dodgeball! Remember the old outdoor recess days at school? 😂