When people learn that I have cancer, they usually appear saddened and offer me encouragement, often adding how good I look. When they learn that I have stage IV cancer, their sadness deepens, and they tell me how sorry they are. When they discover that I have stage IV anal cancer, they appear shocked and either shut up or ask in hushed voices how I "caught it."

After four years, you would think I'd be used to the...

Seven months into her pregnancy with her second child, Melissa DeLeon was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
  Several weeks before her diagnosis, she had begun experiencing AML symptoms. She was dizzy and nauseous. She bruised easily, had lost all appetite and was often tired. She went to her doctor for blood work. After the test, the doctor handed her a large, sealed envelope and told her to go to the address on the...