Leukemia

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is being treated for a rare form of leukemia, and the basketball great said his prognosis is encouraging. The NBA's all-time leading scorer was diagnosed last December with chronic myeloid leukemia. The 62-year-old Abdul-Jabbar said his doctor didn't give any guarantees, but informed him: "You have a very good chance to live your life out and not have to make any drastic changes to your lifestyle." Abdul-Jabbar is taking an oral medication for the disease.

Andres Zapata says that the lacrosse teams he and Jonathan Haupt played on at Goucher College more than a decade ago weren't very good. But Haupt was always one of the leaders in practice as well as games. "He was always there to help," Zapata recalled Sunday Zapata, along with many of Haupt's friends, family and many total strangers, is now trying to return the favor as Haupt, a 32-year-old software developer from Northern Virginia, battles a rare and aggressive form of leukemia called acute myelogenous leukemia.

It's hard to take a vacation from leukemia, but for a precious week in Ocean City, 7-year-old Tomas Nichols and his family did their best. Their respite might not have been as loud and adventure-filled as that of other families - they spent much of their time relaxing on a beach house deck - but for them, it was a thrill just to be in a different, peaceful place. The gift of time away came from a Baltimore-based foundation, which provided the beach house for free. "The kids are having fun; we have absolutely nothing to do," Paul Nichols, whose son was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia about two years ago, said during the family's recent beach visit.

The Minnesota Vikings' Kenechi Udeze sat last night with other hamstrung NFL players, signing autographs at the 31st Ed Block Courage Awards ceremony. The recipients, one from each team, were tabbed for doing battle with a host of hardships, including knee, neck and elbow injuries. Udeze? He is fighting cancer - and winning. The leukemia that struck down the Vikings' 6-foot-3, 270-pound defensive end last year is in remission. There's no trace of the rare blood disorder that could have killed Udeze, a 2004 first-round draft pick who just turned 26. "March 5 was my birthday - and so was the day after that and the day after that," the big lineman said.

Like many young girls her age, Kamryn Lambert was particular about her clothes. She liked bright colors and nice fabrics, and they had to be stylish. Whenever she went to the hospital for treatment of leukemia, Kamryn took along her latest favorite outfit, and wore it in the hallways, much to the amusement of the nurses and doctors. "It endeared her to them," said Kamryn's grandmother, Debi Katzenberger, who yesterday recalled the horror with which the 9-year-old girl greeted the drab hospital gowns the children were provided.

For more than a year, I had put off meeting my neighbor. An 8-foot tall fence as imposing on a miniature scale as the Berlin Wall had divided our small lawns since I had moved in two Decembers before. I had faced out onto the worlds of other neighbors long before I met her, already having watched six seasons pass as these individuals, whose sidewalks intersected with mine, zigzagged across their lawns behind lawnmowers, put out the trash, rushed off to work and to school as light still just hinted at illuminating the day. I had heard that the woman behind the fence had had leukemia.

On September 27, 2007, ROBERT W. WILLEY beloved husband of Nora Willey, devoted father of Frank, Donald, Deirdre, Christopher, Bobby, and Sean. Loving grandfather of 16 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Services and interment are private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 11350 McCormick Road, Executive Plaza III, Suite 100, Hunt Valley, MD, 21031. Arrangements by BRADLEY ASHTON FUNERAL HOME, P.A.

After a gnawing pain in her left arm brought her to the doctor last year, Carlie Marvel, then 12, learned she had a rare, life-threatening form of leukemia. The cancer cells had eaten away nearly half of the bones in her upper left arm. The Eastern Shore girl spent two months at Johns Hopkins Hospital undergoing chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant from her younger sister. Yesterday at the Hard Rock Cafe in Baltimore, a healthy 13-year-old Carlie and her mother, Caryn Marvel of Trappe in Talbot County, shared their story with about 100 cancer patients, survivors, family members and friends of the Maryland Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

On July 27, 2007 FRED E. WORTHINGTON. Devoted and loving husband of Anne R. Gossett, beloved father of Ashton Scott and his wife Tina March. A memorial service will be held Thursday, August 16 at 3:00 PM at Maryland Institute College of Art's Brown Center, 1301 Mount Royal Avenue in Baltimore. In lieu of flowers, the family request memorial donations be sent to Fred E. Worthington Memorial Fund, MICA, 1300 Mount Royal Avenue, Baltimore MD 21217, or the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 11350 McCormick Road, Executive Plaza lll, Suite 100, Hunt Valley, MD 21031.

Lynn Jaquet was impressed when she learned that students at Bel Air Elementary School were going to raise money to fight leukemia, particularly given that the cause hit close to home. Her son Zachary was diagnosed with leukemia four years ago at age 6. After completing three years of chemotherapy in June, Zachary's illness is in remission, and now the fourth-grader has a chance to help other children with cancer. "Zachary came home from school, handed me the letter about the fundraiser, then went up to his room," the Bel Air resident said.