Following the news that Brighton Beach Memoirs broadway actress Royana Black passed away suddenly after a brave fight from leukemia, the sitcom star is receiving outpouring support from friends and family who are remembering her kind spirit and legacy.
Black succumbed to her battle with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) on July 14th at the age of 47. It’s unclear how long she battled against the disease before passing, but according to a GoFundMe campaign raising money for her memorial her death was very sudden. The GoFundMe has raised nearly $55,000 so far doubling its goal of $25,000 and the comments are filled with family, friends, and fans sharing their fondest memories of Black.
Read MoreNavigating An AML Diagnosis
Acute myeloid leukemia can be a tricky disease to diagnosis, especially since many of its symptoms are similar to a common cold. AML symptoms include shortness of breath, decreased exercise tolerance, unexplained bruising, or infections. However, in some cases, patients may have no symptoms at all, and are diagnosed unexpectedly during a routine health evaluation. In addition to those symptoms, early signs of AML may present as fever, fatigue, or loss of appetite. Unfortunately there are no current screening tests to detect early signs of the disease, but that doesn’t mean treatment options aren’t available.
Related: Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)An Overview of Initial Treatment
Once you’re diagnosed with AML, there are two phases of treatment to consider. The first phase is called remission induction therapy, which lasts a month, where patients will undergo chemotherapy to help with symptoms such as fatigue, infection, and bleeding. The goal of chemotherapy is to reduce the number of patients’ cancer cells by 99% with the goal of the person going into remission. From there, doctors will perform tests to evaluate the patient’s blood and bone marrow counts.
Dr. Richard Stone breaks down the two phases of AML treatment
If a patient’s bone marrow counts are low, then they might go through a bone marrow transplant. Seeing that AML is a cancer of the bone marrow, the transplant will replace one’s original bone marrow with healthier bone marrow. During the transplant, patients will be connected to an IV dripping the donor bone marrow into the patient’s system, and from there the bone marrow will enter into the body through the bloodstream. In order to see if the transplant was effective, patients will need to stay in the hospital for two to four weeks to be evaluated and monitor potential side effects.
Related: Finding The Ideal Donor For A Stem-Cell Transplant
"What we will be seeing happen to patients is on their blood tests that we check daily we see that their bone marrow is shutting down," says Dr. Caitlin Costello, a hematologist and medical oncologist at UC San Diego Health. "We see that their immune system is weakening, their bone marrow is no longer producing those immune system cells, their body is no longer producing the blood the literal gas in their tank and it's during this time that we're supporting you because we can keep your tank full, we can give you blood transfusions and platelet transfusions…as a means to keep you safe."
Dr. Caitlin Costello breaks down what patients should expect during a bone marrow transplant
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