From a leukemia diagnosis to a renewed purpose

There are few words that can change the course of a life as quickly as: “You have leukemia.”

Alvin Uy knows this firsthand. In 2023, Alvin was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML)—a diagnosis that immediately changed the way he looked at time, family, work, and even something as ordinary as a blood test.

What followed was a grueling period of treatment and months of confinement. Chemotherapy, radiation, blood and platelet transfusions, uncertainty, and physical exhaustion became part of his daily reality. But along the way, Alvin discovered something equally important: getting through leukemia is never an individual battle.

Behind every patient is an entire community—doctors and nurses, family and friends, colleagues, blood donors, and people who step forward to help a patient make it through another day. 

And Alvin learned another lesson that would change his perspective forever: Leukemia is not necessarily a death sentence.

The science has progressed. Advances in modern medicine have dramatically changed the conversation around leukemia. Improved diagnostics, chemotherapy, targeted therapies, immunotherapy, and hematopoietic stem-cell or bone marrow transplantation have given many patients treatment options and possibilities that previous generations did not have.

For Alvin, transplantation became part of that journey. Three years after undergoing a bone marrow transplant, his latest tests conducted in Singapore showed no detectable FLT3 mutation or leukemia-associated mutations—a result he describes with gratitude and humility, knowing that it is never something to be taken for granted.

His experience has given him a renewed appreciation for something that can easily be forgotten when we talk about cancer in terms of statistics: Behind every diagnosis is a person.

A person who wants to go home.  

A father who wants to see his children grow up.  

A husband who wants more time with his family.  

A professional who wants to return to work.  

A friend who wants to celebrate another birthday.  

A human being who simply wants the chance to wake up tomorrow.

More than a personal victory. For Alvin, survival has, therefore, become more than a personal victory. It has become a reason to speak up for others who are still fighting. Because while medical science has made remarkable progress, one difficult question remains: Can every patient access that science?

For a leukemia patient, knowing that an effective treatment exists is only the beginning. There are medicines to obtain, diagnostic tests to undergo, hospital bills to pay, transfusions to arrange, and, for some, a transplant to pursue. The journey can be long, expensive, physically exhausting, and emotionally overwhelming—not only for the patient but for the entire family.

This is where organizations such as the EPCALM Adult Leukemia Foundation of the Philippines play an important role.

As an Honorary Member of the EPCALM Board of Trustees, Alvin has seen firsthand the importance of having an organization that walks alongside adult leukemia patients and their families. Established in 2005, EPCALM provides personalized, comprehensive, and family-centered support addressing not only medical and financial needs, but also the emotional, psychosocial, and spiritual challenges that accompany a leukemia diagnosis.

Because healing does not happen only inside a hospital room. Sometimes a patient needs help accessing medicines. Sometimes a family needs financial assistance. Sometimes they need help navigating a complicated healthcare system. Sometimes they simply need someone to listen—to understand what it means to hear the words, “You have leukemia.”

And sometimes, they need to be reminded that they are not alone. Alvin's own experience has changed the way he thinks about survival. He knows that cancer is complicated and that every leukemia journey is different. Modern medicine cannot guarantee that every patient will survive.

But he also knows that a leukemia diagnosis does not automatically mean the end. The goal should be to give every patient the best possible chance—to make advances in medicine more accessible, help families who cannot shoulder the burden alone, encourage blood donation, and strengthen organizations that provide support throughout the journey.

For Alvin, his journey from diagnosis to transplant and recovery has given him something he perhaps did not expect when he first heard those life-changing words.

A renewed purpose. Today, he uses his voice and his experience to help others see beyond the diagnosis—to see the possibility of treatment, the importance of support, and the power of hope. His story is not a promise of what every leukemia patient will experience. It is something more grounded and perhaps more meaningful: a reminder that there can be hope even after the words, “You have leukemia.”

And that hope becomes stronger when patients do not have to fight alone. Alvin Uy is a leukemia survivor, an advocate, and a member of the EPCALM community—living proof that sometimes, surviving leukemia can lead to a renewed purpose: helping others find their own reason to hold on. 

Alvin's story reminds us that leukemia can change the course of a life—but it does not have to define its ending. With advances in medicine, access to treatment, the support of family and community, and the courage to keep going, hope remains possible.

His journey from diagnosis to transplant and recovery has given him a renewed purpose: to help other leukemia patients believe that there can be life beyond the diagnosis.

Because sometimes, holding on is the beginning of a new chapter. /MPD