Hi guys! Producer Kendall here. Today was a great day! I got to meet my fellow class mates and trainers, coach, and mentor for Triumph! I heard the recent interview with Kitty O'Neal and Triumph Foundation during the Afternoon News and thought it would be wonderful to sign up for their fitness class to help get in better shape after my recent battle with leukemia during this last year.

For those who may be new to the show, I was diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) on September 4th of 2019. I'll describe my story briefly here: the cancer was extremely aggressive and came on very fast with in about a week and a half. I went from feeling like myself to feeling very low energy, out of breath when I walked for a very short distance and I became tired all the time and had to lay down a lot after sleeping a good 8 - 9 hours at night. I noticed I had bruises all over the lower parts of my legs and did not remember bumping in to anything. I knew something was wrong and tried hard to get into my primary Doctor for a check up but because of the holiday I could not be seen any time soon. Then I had bleeding coming from my mouth that would not stop. I knew at that time I had to go to the emergency room. I was quickly diagnosed with leukemia that night and immediately started on chemotherapy and received blood and platelet transfusions. I was in the hospital for one month and have continued my chemotherapy infusions and pills for the last 9 months at Kaiser Permanente. I could not have beaten cancer with out my amazing oncologist Dr. Law, all of my nurses, and most importantly... all of your prayers and love during the most difficult time of my life.

I just finished cancer treatment on May 8th and had my Power Port removal surgery on May 29th. I could not have discovered Triumph at a better time! I'm grateful to meet new friends who know what I have gone through and also have a chance to socialize during this COVID-19 time where it has been really difficult to socialize. It feels awesome to have a new support system and guidance and inspiration to help me get my strength back after a really tough year. I've felt out of shape, weak, gross, and unattractive because of the cancer and I'm really looking forward to becoming stronger and more in tune with my body after my 120 arsenic trioxide chemotherapy infusions and dozens of ATRA chemo pills. I also had to take a statin for really high cholesterol which was a side effect of my ATRA chemotherapy pills. I'm looking forward to my Triumph classes and also learning how to eat better and follow a low cholesterol diet to become healthier while taking my classes.

I'm excited to share my Triumph journey with you all and restoring my life after cancer! It was fantastic to meet everyone today in the park in person! It was a windy day and we all sat 6 feet apart and got to introduce ourselves. We also got our, "Triumph On-the-Go" Kits which they put together for us which include a, "Treasure Map" which isn't really a treasure map but it's funny to call it that! It's instructions which shows us how to use our stretchy bands, thick yoga / stretch mat, several bands, and door brace. You can see my kit here:

You can listen to Kitty O'Neal's interview with Pam Whitehead, Executive Director for the Triumph Cancer Foundation HERE. Thanks for following my journey! I love you guys so much! And also a huge thank you for listening to the show! Stay tuned for my updates. Thank you :) - Producer Kendall

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