--- title: Diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia at 60, She Found a Second Chance at Life with Stem Cells Donated by Her Son url: "https://www.yyhmedical.com/en/stories/acute-myeloid-leukemia-haploidentical-transplant-recovery" type: Article inLanguage: en-US disease: Acute Myeloid Leukemia treatment: Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation datePublished: 2026-03-11 --- # Diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia at 60, She Found a Second Chance at Life with Stem Cells Donated by Her Son > After her diagnosis, she underwent a hematopoietic stem cell transplant with her son as the donor. Today, she is back to enjoying life with her family. Summary: At 60, Ms. Chao sought medical care for persistent fatigue and pain in both legs. She was ultimately diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that had transformed from myelofibrosis. Her disease was high-risk and difficult to treat, and multiple rounds of chemotherapy failed to bring it into remission. Worried about the risks of treatment - and about asking her son to become her stem cell donor - she once considered giving up on transplant. With encouragement from her family, however, she came to GoBroad Shanghai Zhaxin Hospital, where she underwent a haploidentical allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant using stem cells donated by her son. Her leukemia went into complete remission after transplant, and her health gradually returned. Today, she is once again enjoying everyday family life. Her story follows a 60-year-old patient from a difficult diagnosis to renewed hope, and reflects the strength that can come from family support, compassionate medical care, and the determination to keep going. ![677d9d0b-1939-4494-9123-71962843bbea.png](https://gaobo-byh-h5.oss-accelerate.aliyuncs.com/images/20260911/d52d4e7722edcab31ed396c6fef5c172_20260911221420.png "d52d4e7722edcab31ed396c6fef5c172_20260911221420.png")  At 60, Ms. Chao (a pseudonym) had a happy family and was looking forward to a peaceful retirement. Instead, persistent fatigue and pain in her legs led her to seek medical care, where she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Further testing showed a markedly enlarged spleen, and a bone marrow biopsy revealed myelofibrosis, suggesting transformation from a myeloproliferative neoplasm and an overall poor prognosis. Ms. Chao has always been cheerful and optimistic. But when she first learned that her disease was difficult to treat and that therapy could carry significant risks - and then learned that her son might need to donate stem cells - she considered giving up. Her family, however, never gave up on her. They kept searching for another path forward. With her family beside her, Ms. Chao came to GoBroad Shanghai Zhaxin Hospital. The medical team’s careful assessment and extensive experience in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation gave her renewed confidence. In January 2024, she successfully underwent an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant with her son as the donor. The new stem cells successfully engrafted and began to grow. After transplant, her leukemia achieved complete remission and her recovery went well. Recently, she returned to GoBroad Shanghai Zhaxin Hospital for her two-year post-transplant follow-up. She hopes that sharing both the setbacks she encountered and the practical lessons she learned during recovery can encourage other patients on the same journey. ![ccf09208-18cd-4f55-843d-d83f30f6fd26.png](https://gaobo-byh-h5.oss-accelerate.aliyuncs.com/images/20260911/1f7f101883a107fe0c6d677c63980a0c_20260911221455.png "1f7f101883a107fe0c6d677c63980a0c_20260911221455.png") January 2026: Ms. Chao with Nurse Manager Bo Wang **\- Patient Q&A -** **Q1: Looking back, what were the first warning signs that something was wrong?** A: At the end of 2022, I had a viral cold. The cold itself cleared up within a few days, but from then until February 2023 I constantly felt weak and exhausted. Even walking felt difficult. At first I assumed I was just taking a long time to recover from the cold, so I rested at home and did not think too much of it. Then the pain in both legs became so severe that I could not sleep at night, and that was when I finally went to the hematology department at a local hospital. My blood test came back abnormal. The doctor told me to be admitted right away because my blood cell counts were very low. After I was hospitalized, I had a bone marrow aspiration and a series of further tests. The final diagnosis was acute myeloid leukemia transformed from myelofibrosis. That was the beginning of a long and difficult course of treatment. I went through several rounds of chemotherapy, but the disease never went into remission. The doctors told me that mine was a high-risk, refractory case and that an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant was the only treatment that could potentially offer long-term survival. Looking back now, my body had actually been sending warning signs about six months earlier. I had developed many small bleeding spots on both legs, but I did not pay much attention. I thought they were like ordinary bruises from bumps and would disappear after a few days, but they never did. It was only when the weakness and leg pain became obvious that I realized something more serious was going on. **Q2: What led you to choose GoBroad Shanghai Zhaxin Hospital for your transplant?** A: The doctors had recommended an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. We could not find a fully matched donor in the registry, so both my son and my younger brother were tested. My brother was 57 and was a half match, and my son was also a half match. After an overall assessment, my son was considered the better stem cell donor for me. I asked the doctor what my chances would be if I had the transplant at the local hospital. Based on my age and condition, I was told it was around 30%. Hearing that number, my heart sank and I immediately thought about giving up. I was already 60, and I did not feel that a 30% chance was worth such a gamble. As a mother, I also could not bear the thought of my son donating stem cells for me. I did not understand the donation process at the time and assumed it would harm his health. So I thought I should just continue with conservative treatment. The doctor told me that giving up on transplant would essentially mean giving up on treatment, but I still chose to go home. I had several more rounds of chemotherapy, yet the disease still did not respond. My platelet count fell into the single digits. Every week I had to go to the hospital for a transfusion. It might rise into the teens or twenties afterward, only to fall back into the single digits a few days later. It was no longer helping. I may have been ready to give up, but my family never stopped looking for hope. They asked around to find out which hospitals had the most experience treating a disease like mine. After speaking with many people, we learned about Professor Chun Wang and his team at GoBroad Shanghai Zhaxin Hospital. With nothing to lose, we made an appointment with him. Professor Wang was impressive. He reviewed my previous medical records and described my condition very precisely. The question that mattered most to me was still the chance of success, so I gathered my courage and asked again. Professor Wang answered calmly, “Based on your condition, there is a good chance that transplant could lead to a cure.” His confidence made me feel that he truly knew what he was doing. During the consultation, we also raised our biggest concern: would donating stem cells harm my son? Professor Wang patiently explained that the current approach uses medication to mobilize stem cells from the bone marrow into the peripheral blood. The cells can then be collected in a process similar to giving blood; a machine separates out the stem cells and returns the remaining blood components to the donor. His explanation put our whole family at ease. Professor Wang also used a simple analogy. He said my disease was like a field overgrown with weeds: first you clear away the weeds, then plant healthy seeds from my son so that good crops can grow. That made everything much easier to understand, and much of our fear about transplant disappeared. I remember taking his hand and saying again and again, “That’s wonderful.” After the appointment, my son and I sat in the hospital lobby and talked it over. He said, “Mom, let’s do the transplant here. Other people have made it through, and so can we. If there’s a chance for a cure, we should go for it.” I said, “All right. We’ll do it here.” In December 2023, I was admitted to GoBroad Shanghai Zhaxin Hospital and began the pre-transplant preparations. In January 2024, I entered the transplant unit. ![68c61719-38e9-4125-ae26-90e694d50676.png](https://gaobo-byh-h5.oss-accelerate.aliyuncs.com/images/20260911/8e56e75844acb35dcfb851dbcf254110_20260911221622.png "8e56e75844acb35dcfb851dbcf254110_20260911221622.png")  **Q3: What was it like in the transplant unit? Were you nervous or afraid?** A: Before I went in, I was definitely worried and scared. I had read stories online saying that some transplant units felt cold, clinical, and depressing. But on the day I entered the unit, the nurse manager, my husband, and my son walked me in together. The moment I got there, I realized it was nothing like I had imagined. The room had soft, warm off-white tones, and even the flooring and blinds made the space feel comfortable. It was not a large room, but I actually slept very well that first day. Most of my worries disappeared almost immediately. Things also moved quickly. Before long, the doctors and nurses were starting my high-dose conditioning chemotherapy. Everyone was very kind. They checked on me often and would stop to chat, which helped me gradually relax. What touched me most was that Dr. Huixia Liu came to see me early every morning. I was in Room 1, and every time she came in she would greet me warmly and ask how I was doing. I could not make sense of my blood test results, so she would point to the numbers on her phone and say, “Your blood counts have started to come up today!” The numbers were still only just beginning to rise, but she was so happy and told me it meant “the seeds have started to sprout.” She encouraged me every single day, and that gave me something to look forward to. During my time in the transplant unit, I did not have many major problems apart from a fever, and I did not have diarrhea. Near the time I was ready to leave the unit, however, I developed some mouth ulcers. I have to admit I was partly to blame. The unit provided a medicated mouth rinse, and the nurses had explained exactly how to use it, including holding it in the mouth long enough for it to reach the back of the throat. I disliked the taste and did not follow the instructions as carefully as I should have, and then the ulcers appeared. The mouth ulcers had already started a little while I was still in the unit, but the week after I came out was the hardest. I could barely drink or eat because it hurt so much. Fortunately, Dr. Chuxian Zhao’s team responded quickly and provided daily oral care. After about a week, as my blood counts continued to recover, the inflammation settled and the ulcers healed. I left the transplant unit in the second half of January. I then stayed in the hospital for nearly two more months for recovery and observation, and finally went home in mid-March. Overall, the process went quite smoothly. **Q4: You once thought about giving up. What changed your mind and helped you keep going?** A: At the local hospital, I had three rounds of chemotherapy without achieving remission, and my condition had become very serious. I remember lying in bed drenched in sweat, staring out the window and thinking, “It’s all right. If this is what fate has decided, then I’ll accept it.” Before I got sick, my son and I would occasionally argue. I have a quick temper, and so does he, so sometimes we would talk back to each other. But after I became ill, he changed completely. When I wanted to give up on transplant, he would not allow it. He held my hand and said, “Mom, I’ll donate my stem cells. I’ll find a way to handle the money - even if I have to sell the house.” He simply refused to give up on me. My family was the biggest reason I kept going. My husband and son were incredibly attentive. If I showed even a little anxiety or started saying, “How did I end up with such a serious illness?”, they would stop me from dwelling on it. When I felt physically miserable, my son would send me videos of my little grandson. Seeing his sweet face always cheered me up. I told myself I had to stay alive and fight for more time with my family. Thank you to my son for giving me a second chance at life. Thank you to my family for never giving up on me. And thank you to the doctors and nurses at the hospital for caring for me so attentively. I would not be where I am today without all of you. **Q5: Are there any lessons from your post-transplant recovery that you would like to share with other patients?** A: One experience really stayed with me. It was May 2024, about half a year after my transplant, and I had been eating a very light diet. I am from Changzhou, and one day I casually mentioned that I was craving the local pickled radish. My daughter-in-law kindly went out and bought some for me. It was homemade-style pickled radish from a market stall. I ate just one piece, and by that evening I had diarrhea. I immediately messaged Dr. Chuxian Zhao, and she told me to come to the hospital right away. Fortunately, we treated it promptly and the diarrhea was quickly brought under control. Since then, I have stayed away from pickled foods. We also paid a lot of attention to hygiene at home. My son bought an air purifier specifically for my bedroom. Whenever I was resting in bed, he would turn it on to keep the air fresh. I wore a mask whenever I went out, and if anyone in the family had a cold or cough, I took extra precautions. There was also one small care tip I learned in the transplant unit: using a cotton swab to apply a small amount of chlortetracycline eye ointment just inside the nostrils to help prevent bleeding from fragile nasal capillaries. I sometimes did this in dry weather to reduce nosebleeds. (\*Please note: This is based on one patient’s personal care experience and may not be appropriate for everyone. Always follow the treatment and medication guidance of your own medical team.) **Q6: After everything you have been through, what are you hoping for in the years ahead?** A: It has been two years since my transplant, and I feel that I have recovered very well. At home, I like trying out recipes, and when I have time I knit little sweaters for my grandson. Sometimes my husband and I take a walk together in the evening as the sun sets. Life is quiet and peaceful now, and that is enough for me. I do not have any grand plans for the future. My biggest wish is simply to watch my grandson grow up healthy and happy. Being at home, safe and well, with my family close by - that is the kind of happiness that means the most to me. ![d973ad1b-9637-4250-b6b5-988b1bfa5a5c.png](https://gaobo-byh-h5.oss-accelerate.aliyuncs.com/images/20260911/61c31b0bd8fb7e6f29d1a396f0009605_20260911221915.png "61c31b0bd8fb7e6f29d1a396f0009605_20260911221915.png") Everyday moments from Ms. Chao’s life after recovery ## Expert view Dr. Chuxian ZHAO (Associate Chief Physician, MD; Director, Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Center, GoBroad Shanghai Zhaxin Hospital): For patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) transformed from myelofibrosis (MF), allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is currently the only treatment with the potential to achieve long-term survival and, in some cases, cure. Ms. Chao underwent a related haploidentical transplant. Her underlying disease is now in complete remission, and both her blood counts and physical condition have recovered well. It has been deeply moving to see Ms. Chao’s optimism and the love and support shared within her family. We hope these peaceful, happy days continue for many years to come. > This content is published with the authorization of the patient and their family, intended solely to share real experiences and health knowledge. It does not constitute a recommendation of any treatment plan or medical diagnostic advice. For specific treatment, please follow the guidance of a professional physician. --- Original (HTML):https://www.yyhmedical.com/en/stories/acute-myeloid-leukemia-haploidentical-transplant-recovery This is a clean Markdown mirror for large language models; the original page is authoritative.