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Alston diagnosed with leukemia, will take leave of absence from Revs

KevinAlston (ISIPhotos.com)

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By IVES GALARCEP

New England Revolution defender Kevin Alston will take a leave of absence from the team  in order to undergo treatment for leukemia after being diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).

Alston’s treatment is not expected to require hospitalization. He is expected to return to the Revs in the future.

The 24-year-old Alston was in his fifth season with the Revs, and had settled in as a starting left back after playing at right back for most of his first four seasons with New England.

Alston had started four matches this season for the Revs, and recent surpassed the 10,000 minutes-played mark for New England.

Comments

  1. Well, if you have to have leukemia, CML is the best kind to have because there is a highly effective pharmaceutical treatment for it (2nd generation derivatives of a drug known as Gleevac). Sure, he’ll have to take pills every day for the rest of his life, but after emotionally processing his condition, the outlook is positive.

    Source: friend has CML

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  2. Scary, had a relative die of leukemia. But it sounds like knowledge and treatment have evolved in the direction of increased survival.

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  3. As a fellow CML patient, I can say with confidence that usually, the prognosis is relatively good. Gleevec advanced the treatment of CML greatly and now, with proper medication, life expectancy and standard of living are relatively normal. Definitely terrible news, but luckily, it should be treatable.

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  4. scary news to hear, I’ve always been a big fan of Kevin and wish him all the best. Hope to see you back in a Revs shirt soon

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  5. Wow. Cancer is a scary thing endure. It will put life into prespective for him but luckily the prognosis for CML is usually good. I’m sure Alston will get top care and be back on the field at some point. My heart goes out to him. The next few months will be tough but I’m sure he’s as hardnosed and determined off the pitch as he is on it.

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  6. Thoughts and prayers sent out to Kevin and his family! Hope he beats this and gets back on the field shortly. Definitely puts things into perspective.

    Reply

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