Leukemia survivor finds hope and connection at UT MD Anderson

In early 2024, Leigh Ann Chiles had just turned 50. She and her husband, Chris, were empty nesters who had just moved into their new home in South Alabama. Aside from a few planned trips, she was looking forward to a year of relaxation.

Then, a leukemia diagnosis changed everything.

Leukemia symptoms that led to a diagnosis

Leigh Ann thought the extreme fatigue she’d begun experiencing was due to age and hormones. So, she saw a hormone specialist and had a full workup.

“It showed that I was anemic, and my blood counts were a little low – but nothing alarming or that screamed cancer,” recalls Leigh Ann. She got vitamin B12 injections, took iron pills and had another blood test after a month. “Then I left for a vacation to Maine.”

While on vacation, she felt a little fatigued after hiking and noticed some bruises on her body. But she didn’t think much of it. Then she got a call from the clinic saying her blood work was questionable; she was being referred to a hematologist.

“The day after I saw the hematologist, she called to tell me that I had acute myeloid leukemia,” says Leigh Ann. “She said it was an aggressive type of cancer and wanted me to see a leukemia specialist at UT MD Anderson.”

Still in shock, Leigh Ann and Chris drove seven hours the next morning to UT MD Anderson.     

Enrolling in a clinical trial for acute myeloid leukemia (AML)

On May 24, 2024, Leigh Ann met leukemia specialist Guillermo Montalban-Bravo, M.D. He said they would need a bone marrow biopsy to confirm her diagnosis. Then, her care team would develop a treatment plan.

“Dr. Montalban-Bravo was amazing. He got a sheet of paper and drew out what was happening,” she says. “He did a great job of explaining everything, and he was very caring.”

Leigh Ann stayed at the hospital for a few days while her test results came back. Once doctors learned which genetic mutations were driving the cancer, they developed a curative treatment plan.

Leukemia specialist Yesid Alvarado-Valero, M.D., told Leigh Ann she qualified for a clinical trial that was only available at UT MD Anderson. It studied how well the combination chemotherapy and targeted therapy regimen FLAG-GO worked for people newly diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

“The clinical trial had been showing really good success rates and offered less chance for relapse,” she says. “Dr. Alvarado-Valero told me it was pretty intense, but he believed I could handle it.”

Leigh Ann started treatment on June 6, 2024. The first round was tough. Her blood counts dropped, she developed pneumonia and a blood infection and ran a fever for eight days straight.

She completed the second round of treatment as an outpatient and stayed at the Rotary House. After developing a blood clot, she spent a few days in UT MD Anderson’s Acute Cancer Care Center. 

On top of that, her son, Carson, was planning to get married in two weeks. She wanted nothing more than to make it to his wedding, but it didn’t look promising.

“Dr. Montalban-Bravo visited me when I was in the Acute Cancer Care Center. He told me, ‘I can’t promise you’ll make it to the wedding, but we’ll do everything we can to try to get you there,’” she recalls. “That meant so much to me. He understood that I wasn’t just a leukemia patient. I was a mom.” 

The chance to dance with her son

Carson got married on July 13, 2024. And Leigh Ann was there to see it.

“Dr. Montalban-Bravo and his nurse practitioner, Katherine Graap, helped me so much,” she says. “They helped with travel plans, so I could get there in the safest way possible. And since I was immunocompromised, they laid out strict ground rules for me.”

For instance, Leigh Ann didn’t attend the wedding rehearsal. And the reception was held outside, so she was able to distance herself. But she was able to dance with Carson.

“I kept thinking about how beautiful it was that right before my son got married, he was able to see his dad taking care of me – in sickness and in health,” she says. “I was so grateful to be at the wedding. I felt like the luckiest person alive.”

Leigh Ann dances with her son, Carson, at his wedding on July 12, 2024.

Connecting with other patients

When Leigh Ann was first diagnosed, she and Chris only told family and close friends. At the time, they weren’t sure about treatment or even how long they’d be in Houston. But reality set in the first time she had blood work in the lab at UT MD Anderson’s Leukemia Center.

“There were so many people in there, some of them very sick, and I remember telling Chris, ‘I don’t think I belong here,’” she says. “But over the next year, the Leukemia Center honestly felt like the only place I belonged. Being around other patients who all had PICC lines and hats on, I felt comfortable and safe. It’s the only place where I felt people really understood what I was going through.”

Leigh Ann developed relationships with other families at UT MD Anderson.

“Aside from Chris, who’s been absolutely wonderful, my biggest support system became the other patients on my floor,” she says. “We were admitted at the same time, and we went through this together. They not only became my support system, but my family grew close to their families. Being a caregiver isn’t easy, and they became a support system for Chris as well.” 

Whether they were meeting up for dinner, catching up in the leukemia lab or updating one another in a group text, those friendships became a vital part of Leigh Ann’s treatment and recovery.

‘I can finally breathe’

Leigh Ann completed six rounds of chemo. The cancer responded well to treatment, and she’s been in complete remission since.

“Relapse is always a concern, so it was hard for me to get too excited at first because in the back of my mind, I felt like I could get thrown into this all over again,” she says. “But it’s been two years now with no evidence of disease. I feel like I’m finally able to look ahead. I feel like I can finally breathe.”

She recently joined a local YMCA, where she takes yoga and Pilates classes to help regain her strength after chemo. She’s also been painting, fixing up the new house and walking her dog.

Leigh Ann comes to UT MD Anderson every six months for blood tests.

“I have so much faith and trust in Dr. Montalban-Bravo, Katherine and the rest of my care team. It’s comforting knowing I’m in such good hands,” she says. “I have a new appreciation for all the research and clinical trials at UT MD Anderson. And I’m so thankful for every day I’m able to enjoy this life.”

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