Chris Bradley is patient and anxious at the same time over his battle against Leukemia.
“I’m only human, like everybody else and I want it to be over with now. I want to get back to work, you know? But, it’s all in God’s time," he said.
He’s been through four rounds of chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant and he’s now on a clinical trial drug that’s targeting his disease.
Chris has a rare form of cancer called Acute Myeloid Leukemia. It affects the white blood cells. Dr. Bhatnagar says white blood cells function as a barricade against infection.
They are the cornerstone of your immune system. People with AML don’t produce enough mature white blood cells.
Instead, their bone marrow gets overtaken by immature white blood cells. That’s Chris’ dilemma right now.
His treatment has been successful in knocking down that bad white cell count, but it’s still not low enough to get him into remission so he can get a bone marrow transplant.
Once he’s in remission, he’ll be admitted to the hospital for possibly a month. He’ll receive intense chemotherapy for the first 5 to 7 days to eradicate any residual disease that might be in his bone marrow.
Then he’ll receive a transfusion through an IV of healthy bone marrow stem cells from a donor who closely matches his genetic profile. It may take up to a year for his body to produce enough healthy red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.
Hematologist Dr. Bhavana Bhatnagar is the primary physician on the team of doctors at the James Cancer Hospital treating Chris.
Dr. Bhatnagar says from the time she’s known Chris, he’s always shown tremendous strength - physically, emotionally and mentally.
She says she’s impressed by his strong will to beat the disease and move on with his life.
“He stays fit, he stays active and he tries to enjoy his life and has it in his mind that he’s going to beat this and overcome whatever circumstances he has to deal with to do that.”
His husband, Jason and their children, Spencer and Maria are an incredible source of strength for Chris. Anything he needs is just an ask away.
All three of them pitch in daily to make sure he’s fed well, taking his meds and kept as comfortable as possible. They’re also a family that prayers together, too. It’s something that they all say gives them great strength.
“I really believe that God has a plan,” says Chris. “And when you’re in touch with that, you get a lot of strength, a lot of hope and a lot of optimism.”