49-year leukemia survivor: Why I support immunotherapy research at UT MD Anderson

I didn’t learn that Crystal Cruises was supporting UT MD Anderson’s immunotherapy research until I became a guest speaker for the cruise line in February 2026. But finding out that the company was donating a portion of its passengers’ booking fees to UT MD Anderson’s James P. Allison Institute™ through the end of 2026 was thrilling. 

Why? 

Because Dr. Allison won the Nobel Prize in 2018 for his ground-breaking immunotherapy work. And, I was treated at UT MD Anderson myself with an experimental form of immunotherapy almost 50 years ago.

To be traveling to exotic locations around the world with Crystal, speaking to passengers about the powerful geological forces that created those lands and the fascinating animals that live on them, would have been impossible for me to imagine back then. At the time, I just wanted to make it to my next birthday. I have so much gratitude now that I’ve been here to celebrate that one — and many more besides. 

My acute myeloid leukemia diagnosis

I was diagnosed with leukemia about a week after I turned 20. It was the fall of 1977, and the first sign of trouble was when I got really chilled during a camping trip up in the mountains. I couldn’t stop shivering, even after my college friends and I got back down to campus and went inside, where it was warm. 

My roommate finally dragged me to the student health center when I spiked a high fever and became delirious. I ended up collapsing on its doorstep. The nurse took one look at my blood work and sent me to the nearest hospital. A bone marrow biopsy revealed why: I had acute myeloid leukemia. 

Conventional treatments proved too harsh

The doctors at that hospital ended up sending me to a larger one by ambulance. I started treatment there almost immediately. But the high-dose chemotherapy they prescribed was so challenging that I eventually had to stop it. 

Back then, doctors weren’t really sure what might work against leukemia, so they gave you as much chemo as they thought you could handle, then stopped just short of too much. The hope was that it would kill the cancer cells without killing you.

Fortunately, the induction chemotherapy designed to put me into remission worked pretty quickly. But the maintenance chemotherapy designed to keep me there proved too harsh. When I told the doctors I couldn’t take any more and requested an alternative, they asked me to leave their practice. They had nothing else to offer. 

UT MD Anderson had answers when others didn’t 

UT MD Anderson was already leading the way back then with new cancer treatments, just as The Allison Institute™ is today. But finding them wasn’t easy at the time.

The internet and cell phones didn’t exist in the late 1970s. So, I couldn’t just jump online to find other hospitals or see if any clinical trials were available. Instead, I had to go to a nearby university’s medical library and research them myself. Then, I’d call to see if they’d consider accepting me as a patient.  

Most of the hospitals I contacted refused to treat me with anything other than the same chemotherapy regimen I’d already rejected. Others said I was ineligible for any clinical trials because I’d already been treated elsewhere.  

UT MD Anderson was the only hospital that said it could treat me — and I could join a clinical trial there for an early precursor of immunotherapy. I knew it was only experimental, but I also knew I couldn’t go back to chemo. This was my chance. I took it.  

Looking back with gratitude

Looking back now, I don’t know if it was the initial chemotherapy or the experimental immunotherapy that has kept me in remission for so long. I don’t even remember what the drug was called. But I never had any side effects from the immunotherapy. And, I never relapsed.  

UT MD Anderson’s research may well be the reason I’m still alive. I am very grateful. They treated me when other hospitals wouldn’t. And, 49 years later, I am still here. I might be the oldest living survivor of this type of leukemia. 

Looking forward with hope

I’m also excited to be contracting for a company like Crystal, which supports UT MD Anderson. It takes a lot of money to get prospective treatments from the lab to the patient. Every step of that process is critical. So, campaigns like Crystal’s are super important — especially to the people who need that next drug, like I did. 

In the late 1970s, there was pretty much a 0% chance of survival for people like me. So, all I wanted initially was to reach one more birthday. I even changed my major to something more fun, because I didn’t think finding a job would ever become relevant. I never allowed myself to dream about getting older, either. Whenever I found myself fantasizing about getting married or having kids or traveling to Italy, I’d squelch that immediately. I was scared to death, but trying to be realistic.  

Today, I am 68, a two-time college graduate, and a happy, healthy, semi-retired grandparent who has traveled to Australia, New Zealand and parts of Indonesia with Crystal. When I’m on their beautiful ships, I feel so blessed. It’s more than I ever dreamed of achieving. I am more grateful than I can say. 

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