News

Video

A Patient's Self-Advocacy Leads to an Essential Thrombocythemia Diagnosis in Her 30s

Fact checked by:

While in nursing school, a patient recognized potential signs of a blood disorder and advocated for further testing, leading to an early diagnosis of essential thrombocythemia.

Despite initial dismissal of her concerns, a patient's persistent advocacy for her own health led to a diagnosis of essential thrombocythemia in her 30s.

Essential thrombocythemia is a type of myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) during which there is an overproduction of platelets.

Joy Ann Anderson is a patient with essential thrombocythemia for the past 24 years. She has provided one-on-one support over the last three years as an Imerman Angel and serves as a liaison for the MPN Research Foundation.

CURE spoke with Anderson to talk about her initial diagnosis of essential thrombocythemia and the symptoms she experienced.

Transcript:

Yes, I had symptoms. I had severe headaches, and I was super fatigued. And I was only in my 30s, and I was, you know, trying to work full time and support my family. And I had kids, and it was really hard.

My PCP [primary care physician] said, “There's no way that you have this.” I was in nursing school, and I said, “I think I have essential thrombocythemia. My platelets have been super high. Here's my lab work.” And my PCP just really — I really had the push to see a hematologist oncologist.

So I finally got the order to see a hematologist oncologist, and he did a bone marrow biopsy right then and there, right in the office. And he said, “OK, we'll see, you know, if this is true.”

And six weeks later, I came back, and he said, “You were right. You have essential thrombocythemia. It's very rare for your age, but it, you know — you can just take a baby chemo pill, hydroxyurea, and come see me every six months, and, you know, normal … bloodwork and you'll be fine.”

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.

Newsletter

Stay up to date on cancer updates, research and education

Related Videos
Picture of Joy Anderson
Some patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma whose disease progressed after CAR-T cell therapy, responded to odronextamab.
Anne M. Reb is a nurse practitioner with City of Hope.
Image of woman with brown hair.
Image of man with black hair.
Image of bald man.
Image of man.
Image of Kumar.
Dr. Elizabeth K. Lee discusses the RAINFOL-01 clinical trial evaluating treatment with Rina-S in advanced ovarian cancer.
Melanoma is a key cancer type for developing and testing immunotherapies prior to broader clinical application across other malignancies.