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CLL, Spontaneous Regression
Diagnosed with CLL at age 50 from blood tests and bone marrow my disease progressed slowly for 10 years without treatment.
After 10 years my blood counts started improving and 15 years after my diagnosis no signs of CLL were present in my blood.
This is referred to as a Spontaneous Regression and rare.
Now at age 75 next month, I've stayed regressed for 10 years but my oncologist won't call it a cure and I only need to have blood taken once a year.
Has anyone else experienced this or know of others that have regressed spontaneously?
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Welcome to Connect, @remimor. It’s not often we hear of blood conditions such as CLL reversing course and disappearing over the horizon. @gardeningjunkie is one of those rare and wonderful cases where this happened with spontaneous regression…a medical mystery for sure!
Were you diagnosed with CLL?
Yes, in 2020.
Are you currently in treatment or are you in a mindful watching period?
I am in the watchfull period. Praying for a cure.
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1 ReactionWhen you get a diagnosis of a chronic condition such as CLL, it can leave you feeling a little uncertain, especially in the watchful period. CLL is generally very slow to develop and sometimes not requiring any treatment for years, if ever. There are quite a few members in the forum who have been diagnosed with CLL and share their experiences here. If you haven’t seen these already, these discussions would be a great place for you to jump in feet first! Here is one of many:
This is a conversation with a newer member @joeeduffy who was very concerned for her husband who was newly diagnosed with CLL. He is also in a mindful observation of his condition. Some of the information in this post will be very helpful for you to read through as well. Continue on as other members joined in the conversation.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/1007740/
Other conversations can be found by typing in CLL or Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia in the search box above.
How frequently are you having labs with your hematologist?
It was 6 months now it's a year unless something changes. He's an Oncologist.
Thanks, I will check it out.
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1 ReactionHi! thank you for sharing. It gives me hope since my husband was just diagnosed with CLL this week. What changes did do that normalize your blood count?
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1 ReactionWelcome to Connect, @mylove. Your @name is so sweet. I’m thinking you and your husband may have been married for a long time? My husband and I are just coming up on our 50th anniversary in two weeks. Amazing how quickly the time flies. However five years ago the diagnosis of an aggressive form of leukemia rocked our happy little life. With treatment I’m cancer free and life goes on! 🙃
We’re all about hope and encouragement in Connect so I’m happy you’ve found the forum. There are quite a few veteran members who also have CLL along with some newer members who have felt the same level of shock as you and your husband. The good news is that CLL remains one of the more treatable forms of leukemia.
A couple of months ago a new member joined, very worried about her husband’s diagnosis of CLL. I’m going to paste the link to our conversation in hopes that it will also give you some comfort. There’s a lot of information packed into that reply with links to articles that you’ll find helpful.
Here’s the link…keep right on reading past the initial reply:
It’s in this discussion titled I just discovered I have leukemia
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/1007740/
Is your husband going to require treatment or is he in an active surveillance period?