Cancer

Cancer

My friend, Matt, was diagnosed with cancer in May 2002. I was shocked when Matt’s girlfriend, Amber, told me that he had cancer, because Matt was only twenty-three years old when diagnosed. The type of cancer Matt has is called Leukemia, which is cancer of the white blood cells. This cancer starts in the bone marrow but can then spread to the blood, lymph nodes, the spleen, liver, central nervous system and other organs. Cancer affects many people each year including my grandmother who had cancer and now one of my close friends.

The type of Leukemia Matt has is Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), which causes his body many problems. Matt’s first symptoms of Leukemia started with him filling weak and fatigued, looking pale faced, and vomiting on occasion. Matt’s mother is a nurse at the Aiken Hospital, ambling her to know that something was seriously wrong with Matt. Matt’s mom took him to the Aiken Hospital where he was later diagnosed with Leukemia. Matt’s family and friends were shocked to find out he had this disease because of his young age. This is a disease that occurs most commonly in young children, but also affects adults.