KNOW YOUR BODY. CHECK YOURSELF. ACT EARLY.
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Julie Picariello - I Felt Healthy. Now I Had Cancer..??
May 30, 2007 seems so long ago now. I was 26-years-old and had been one of those people who seemed to never get sick. May 30, 2007 is also the day I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
I wondered how could this happen. It had been so long since I had been sick and needed any type of medication that my local pharmacy took my profile out of their system. Now I had cancer...??
I had just been to see my doctor four weeks earlier for my annual physical (although I hadn't had one in about two years), but I neglected to get my blood work done. I figured since I felt healthy there couldn't be wrong with me. If I had my blood work done then, I might have been diagnosed earlier.
Since then, I have had a ridiculous amount of chemotherapy and pills. I've hit a few bumps along the way but in July of 2009 I officially finished treatment! I recently passed my three year remission mark. Only two more years until I hit five years and am officially cancer free!
I push everyone I know to see their doctor regularly and I encourage everyone to take out the best health insurance they can get because you never know when you are going to need it! Check yourself and make sure you have health insurance. It can be a life-saver.
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