Patient Profile: Kim Wants to Fight
September is Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month, but for Kim, every month since February of 2024 is Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month. February of 2024 is when Kim was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (“CML”), a rare type of blood cancer that impacts the bone marrow.
Leading up to her diagnosis, Kim had been experiencing about six months of fatigue, weight loss, stomach pain, low grade fevers, and repeated infections, including the flu and COVID – things that were not seen as symptoms of something else, but as a series of unfortunate health issues that kept cropping up, making her day-to-day life as a single mother more challenging.
After being seen at urgent care centers, Kim made an appointment with her primary care physician who was the first to connect the troubling health dots after finding an enlarged spleen during his physical exam. He ordered blood work and made a referral to Dr. Srilata Gundala, founder of Hope & Healing Cancer Services in Hinsdale, Illinois.
It was Dr. Gundala who told Kim about her diagnosis after a bone marrow biopsy was complete, “I wanted to be told it was a kind of cancer I could fight,” says Kim, “I had to learn that a diagnosis is just a diagnosis, it is not the end result. Dr. Gundala was wonderful with me. I instantly liked her and put my trust in her.”
Now with a diagnosis of CML, Kim was started almost immediately on a protocol of TKI, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, a targeted treatment for CML that seeks to limit cell reproduction. TKI is an oral medication and the preferred treatment for CML. It is used to manage the disease rather than eliminate or cure it.
Kim’s first course of TKI was paused after one month due to her adverse reactions. While it shrunk her spleen and lowered the number of fevers and night sweats she was experiencing, it also lowered her platelets to dangerous levels, requiring hospitalization, “It was very, very scary,” says Kim.
With CML, it is crucial for doctors to identify the precise TKI that will enable the body to best manage the disease. This was especially challenging in Kim’s case, as her platelet counts tumbled in response to it, requiring frequent pauses in treatment. Kim explains, “I could not consistently stay on the treatment.” That was a problem, as consistency is key to the success of TKI.
It was at this point that Dr. Gundala sought a collaboration with the University of Chicago Hospitals to help manage Kim’s care and treatment. A second bone marrow biopsy was ordered and a different TKI was used to better target Kim’s disease. Test results showed that it was working, but because of the impact the TKI was having on her platelets, Kim could not consistently stay on treatment, requiring long pauses in between taking the TKI so her body could recover.
A PCR test is used to measure the effectiveness of TKI and ideally patients want a low score, which confirms the treatment is working. Kim’s scores were all over the board, “With the first TKI, after three months of treatment, I went from a 75% to 73%. Later, when different TKIs were used my numbers jumped from 73% to 6%, then 14% to 27%, back up to 76%. And there were frequent pauses. I was starting to lose hope and very scared.”
During this phase of treatment, the uncertainty was taking a toll on Kim. The staff of Hope & Healing, from Dr. Gundala to the nurses, medical assistants, and receptionists all pulled together to help Kim keep her resolve, both physically and emotionally.
Dr. Gundala explains, “Kim was in our clinic once or twice a week during this period for blood tests and to monitor her labs, as the TKI was negatively impacting her blood counts and immune system. It can be easy for patients to become overwhelmed and fearful in those circumstances. We worked together to help Kim preserve her optimism and hope. She is very special to us, and we leaned into what we do best – helping our patients as a team so they can continue to fight and maintain hope during treatment.”
A third bone marrow biopsy was ordered in July 2025, and it was discovered that a mutation had developed in Kim’s cancer. With that new information, a different TKI was ordered, tailored to Kim’s specific cancer and gene markers. The most recent PCR test, taken just a few weeks ago, showed incredible results, with a percentage drop from 76% to 0.7%. Even better, this new TKI does not appear to be negatively impacting Kim’s platelet counts, meaning she can stay on it consistently, “It was a huge drop and I don’t need to stop anymore to recover. My body is tolerating it,” says Kim.
At Kim’s most recent visit with Dr. Gundala at Hope & Healing, she could barely wait to celebrate the good news, “I saw Dr. Gundala, and she asked me to step into her office. She was amazed by the numbers and so happy to see me. ‘Don’t worry about your numbers,’ she told me. ‘You live your life and let us doctors worry about the numbers.’”
That is good advice that Kim has taken to heart. “I’ve always had a slight case of anxiety,” says Kim, “but my anxiety became very extreme with cancer. It’s been very, very rough to think about it. I wanted to be told I had a kind of cancer I could fight.”
For Kim, she was fighting for herself, but also for her nine-year-old son. “The hardest part in all of this was looking at my son. He is the reason I keep going. I look at him and he gives me strength. He has watched all of this. The “C” word would be used around him, and I tried to explain it to him, but it is scary. Ultimately, I hope it makes him a stronger person.”
Kim is grateful for the research and science that have contributed to her more tailored TKI treatments. So much so, that she is now participating in a research study to help researchers learn from the mutations present in her CML that made her initial treatments so challenging.
Kim is also grateful for all the people who have helped her move forward, even when things looked so uncertain, “My mom was my backbone. She has helped my son with his school and homework. My co-workers have become some of my best friends. They have been so supportive through this. And I rely on my faith a lot – I pray and pray. You have to keep going. I’ve always been a fighter – I have an autoimmune disease, my dad passed in 2021, and I am a single mother. It is all a bump in the road. When you are defeated, tired, and want to give up, you just have to keep going.”
Written By: Sheila Quirke- Hornick, MSW
Reviewed By: Srilata Gundala, MD
Disclaimer: This blog provides general educational information and is not a substitute for medical or psychological advice. Always speak with your healthcare provider and mental health professinals for guidance specific to your situation.
