When most students were scheduling classes and buying textbooks, Ann Gregory was sitting in a doctor’s office listening to the words that would change her life forever.
The doctor diagnosed her with a rare type of leukemia Jan. 9, just one week before the semester began. He said she only had a month to live if she did not seek treatment immediately.
Gregory, 32, graduated from the University with a degree in English and returned years later to pursue a second degree in construction management.
She found a lump on the back of her neck in mid-December and decided to seek a doctor’s advice. The doctor thought it was the result of a spider bite and gave her antibiotics to treat the lump.
But the lump did not become smaller. More formed behind her ears and on her scalp.
After the doctor got the results from a blood test back, he called Gregory and told her to make an appointment at the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center.
The doctor at the center informed Gregory her white blood cell count was about 300 times higher than what it should be and diagnosed her with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia t(4,11), which means her white blood cells are living longer and ignoring signals to fight infections.
She was confused and in disbelief. Chris Gregory, her husband, said he experienced “utter shock and tunnel vision” when the doctor told them her diagnosis for the first time.
“It was like somebody threw a hand grenade in the room,” he said. “It’s just not the kind of thing you expect to hear.”
The doctor told Ann Gregory she was a few hours away from having a stroke, and there was nothing they could do for her in Baton Rouge. They would have to travel immediately to one of the three major cancer treatment centers in the United States, the closest being the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
“Originally, the doctors said there was a 100 percent chance Ann would be dead inside one month if she had not gone to M.D. Anderson to start treatment,” he said.
Ann Gregory and her husband packed their bags and travelled to Houston that day, and the doctors at the center began chemotherapy. Chris Gregory said though emotions ran high, there was little time to commiserate. He was focused on getting his wife to the hospital as soon as possible.
“However, once treatment with chemo began and her leukemia’s genetic defect was identified, they revised the survival time to approximately 10 percent chance of 12 months survival,” Chris Gregory said.
Problems with Ann Gregory’s insurance company surfaced about three weeks ago when they denied her request for a transplant that would give her a 50 percent chance of living for five or more years.
It is difficult to find a bone marrow donor for Ann Gregory because she is Asian-Caucasian. Chris Gregory said Asians account for only six percent of adult bone marrow donors. He said of the 26 possible donors, none were available or did not match perfectly enough for the transplant, so she would have to find a umbilical cord blood donor instead.
The insurance company denied the request and said it was because the $500,000 transplant procedure is still in an experimental phase.
“They said I should get used to her dying, and they said they would cover hospice costs,” Chris Gregory said. “That’s a terrible thing to tell someone who’s trying to save their wife’s life.”
Chris Gregory said their families are trying to raise money for Ann Gregory’s transplant independently and through their blog. They have raised about $65,000 in two weeks. He put their house in Baton Rouge up for sale to help pay for the transplant.
“We’re basically liquidating our lives to try and save hers,” he said.
Chris Gregory said leukemia can be hereditary, but the doctors are not sure how his wife developed it.
Ann Gregory said the doctors at the cancer center are very focused on her recovery and are aggressively pursuing a treatment.
“They’re just so wonderful, and I’m so lucky to be where I am,” she said.
Ann Gregory said she feels optimistic about her recovery.
“You can’t let it get to you,” she said. “It’s hard because I see so many patients who look like they’ve given up. And the doctors are positive.”
Her husband began documenting their daily lives in a blog on Jan. 28, almost 20 days after she was diagnosed. The blog helps them reach out to others and keep in touch with friends and family.
“The blog started as an outgrowth of us being in the hospital,” Chris Gregory said. “When I started looking for research on cancer, what I ran into was other patients who had written in blogs about their experiences. And then all of the sudden they would end. It’s creepy to see a Web site like this that has been abandoned. I wanted to keep a journal of what Ann and I were going through.”
They update the blog daily, complete with photos and YouTube.com videos.
“It gives us an opportunity to record everything that we’re doing,” she said. “I still go back and read the posts. It keeps us grounded, I suppose.”
Chris Gregory has turned down several job offers since moving to Houston because he takes care of his wife full-time. He said he has to take special precautions at their apartment to ensure his wife’s condition does not worsen.
Ann Gregory, who has a caphiter leading to her heart, takes about 30 pills daily to fight bacterial and viral infections because her immune system is so weak. She also has several dietary restrictions.
“One of the funny things about this disease is it’s hard to interpret signals like hunger and thirst,” she said. “The receptors in my brain just aren’t getting those signals.”
Ann Gregory has suffered several physical problems and lost all of her hair as a side effect from chemotherapy. Her hands and feet are numb, her bones ache and her legs are weak.
Ann Gregory has been seeking treatment from the cancer center for 70 days and is still waiting for the insurance’s final answer to their transplant request.
—–Contact Angelle Barbazon at [email protected]