How many types of leukemia are there? What makes each one unique, and are they treated any differently?
We went to leukemia specialist Naveen Pemmaraju, M.D., for answers to these questions and more. Here’s what he shared.
How many different types of leukemia are there?
Quite a few. Leukemia is not just a single disease. It’s actually a diverse group of blood-based cancers that originate in the bone marrow...

If you were faced with something bigger and scarier than you initially knew how to deal with, how would you handle it? Would you sit back...
When I got my second cancer diagnosis in early 2017, I was already going to MD Anderson regularly to see Dr. Alessandra Ferrajoli. I’d been...
Britt Mayo has been coming to MD Anderson regularly since 2010, when he was first diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
“But when COVID-19 came around, it was a game-changer,” he says.
For 10 years and countless visits, he’d always come to MD Anderson with his wife, Diana.
“Neither of us were comfortable with me going to my appointments by myself,” Britt says. “She’s a great comfort to me and often remembers...

Mary Hernandez didn’t realize how sick she was when she came to the MD Anderson Emergency Center on March 30. The 41-year-old was still reeling...
Since Robert Alvarado was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in 2014, his family has accompanied him to each appointment, from...
Natural killer cells – or NK cells – are part of our immune system. They patrol our bodies for abnormal cells like cancer and destroy them...
While its name was inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s ambitious goal to put a man on the moon, the Moon Shots Program...
When Sandra Hurley was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) back in 1997, an Ohio-based oncologist gave her two to four more...
A stem cell transplant is often the best option to treat blood cancers, such as leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, as well as bone marrow...