I am a 17 year old diagnosed with APL, a rare and aggressive leukemia. Ask me anything.

Your photo shows that it’s the most curable form of adult leukemia. What are the chances for you?

Things are looking good as of right now. My numbers are fluctuating but my body is taking the chemo very well on day 4

First off— just wanna say sorry about your diagnosis… It’s not fair that you have to undergo this at such a young age

How are you doing mentally with all of this?

When I first got to the hospital I was having panic attacks, reactions to different medications, and I couldn’t stop myself from crying. Everything flipped in less than a week. It’s been about 5 days now and I think I’m still in denial but I know that in the end whatever is meant for me, will work out. Having friends and family to talk to helps a lot

Wow, I really hope you pull through. Wish you the best of luck. Do you have a good support system?

Yes :) my parents have both been staying with me. My dad had cancer a couple years ago and he hasn’t even been in remission three years now. It definitely helps to have someone to relate to like him. Joking with friends helps too.

Those of us in r/SkincareAddiction know Tret for it's retinol benefits as a facial topical cream to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. What's the significance of it being used for chemo?

I’m not necessarily sure. My doctor did say it’s pretty fascinating that a form of chemo can be found in skincare like Accutane. There’s so many side effects to it like nausea, dizziness, and some life threatening cognitive issues, but it’s one of the most effective.

Don’t forget hepatic and cardiac! You’ll be getting EKGs for awhile while you’re on treatment. Especially if they’re combining it with arsenic tri-oxide. Be sure not to drink alcohol while on treatment. This is not medical advice.

Oh yeah. EKGs twice a week :)

How did you find out? What were the first symptoms? Also, I wish you nothing but luck, please keep up the good spirits and stay strong. You're going to kick the sh*t out of it, and never look back!

Excessive bruising and random heavy menstrual cycle led to bloodwork. I got sent to the hospital once they told me I had FOUR platelets.

4 is 4k which is super low, dangerous for bleed outs. Been there from a different disease. Bruising and petechia were the clues. Good luck to you. Happened as a teen to me also. You can bounce back from this <3

How long did it take for you to get into remission?

1.) Were you expecting it? If so how did you react?

2.) If you weren't expecting it, how did you take the news?

I'm looking forward to seeing you beat this. You got this!!!

Not at all. I thought I just had low iron. My doctor and her team came into my room and told me they found leukemia in my blood. All I remember is tipping my head back and bawling my eyes out

When you found out it's one of the most curable types of leukemia, were you still scared or were you more hopeful?

How do you feel from then to now?

I was definitely more hopeful but still upset that I got into this predicament. I thought I had AML at first which is worse from what I’ve heard.

Wow - thank you for sharing and that is super rough. Once you are done with treatment what is the one meal you’d like to have?

Popeye’s😜

Do you believe in god?

I try to but stuff like this really makes me question my faith

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Cringe.

Why are you here trying to do an AMA? What do you want to achieve with this?

Educational purposes, obviously ?

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Bro?