Link between Philadelphia chromosome & radiation exposure?

Welcome to Mayo Connect, @danyelchristine. Unfortunately, exposure to ionizing radiation can be the culprit behind many types of cancers, especially blood cancers. Radiation can cause mutations in DNA strands which may change the course of normal cell production. Considering you worked in a field where your exposure rate was high it wouldn’t be a stretch to think this may have led to your diagnosis of ALL.

However, proving this could be difficult because we’re exposed to radiation from numerous sources raising our risk of developing leukemia or other cancers. Some of these sources could be occupational exposures, nuclear accidents, medical procedures and of course, natural background radiation such as Radon.

To help you learn more about the Philadelphia chromosome and its involvement with ALL I’m putting links in for a couple of articles that might be helpful.
I also understand that reading about a new diagnosis/causes/treatments can be anxiety inducing. But knowledge is power and it may help you be able face this new situation head on. I’ve been there myself. I had an aggressive type of leukemia, AML, I felt that learning as much as I could made me feel less uncertain about what was ahead of me. That was 5 years ago and now I’m cancer free and all of it’s behind me. But I use these lessons to help anyone else facing a leukemia diagnosis and to offer hope.

~https://www.healthline.com/health/leukemia/philadelphia-chromosome-all

~ https://www.lls.org/leukemia/acute-lymphoblastic-leukemia/treatment/ph-positive-all-therapy

There have been many positive advances in treating Philadelphia Chromosome–Positive ALL with targeted therapies. Are you currently in treatment?

Hi @danyelchristine, I add my welcome. What is being recommended as a treatment plan for you? When do you start treatment?