It's so much faster to type MDS rather than Myelodysplastic Syndrome (and easier, too, since I still manage to misspell it). At the same time, though, it can be confusing for people not as familiar with what those abbreviations mean - and especially so for people who are new to the blood cancers.

So what can you do to keep yourself or others straight on all the MDSs or NHLs besides carrying around a reference card?

I'd recommend looking at We need a Quick Reference for Abbreviations, a topic initiated on our Discussion Boards by Lynda. You can also visit our search glossary and type in the abbreviation you are interested in learning more about.

Here are a few to get you started:*

AML = Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

ALL = Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia

CML = Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia

CLL = Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

NHL = Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

MDS = Myelodysplastic Syndrome

Do you have any tips or tricks on how to remember so many abbreviations and their meanings?

*Learn more about leukemia, lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndrome, and other blood cancers in our Disease Information section on our website.

Take a few minutes and go to a website like Technorati. Type in the search bar “leukemia” and see how many blog posts come up. I just did a search and as of right now it says that 677 posts are tagged “leukemia” and there are 152 blogs about leukemia. There are also quite a few videos and photos.

It’s inspiring to read some of these blogs. It’s clear that writing about their experiences with cancer, whether they are a patient, caregiver or family member, is therapeutic and relieving. Not only are they helping themselves, the people who run across their blogs are finding hope and encouragement.

Take a look at How's Dave Doing?, a blog written by Anna about her husband Dave’s battle with leukemia. It’s both touching and informational. Read her recent post reviewing our very own Emerging Therapies for Blood Cancer Patients seminar held in San Francisco.

It was a strange feeling to sit in a huge ballroom, filled with hundreds of people, and think, "Most of these people have Leukemia or Lymphoma." You'd see a couple, and try to guess which one was the patient and which one was the caregiver, and it wasn't possible.

Another blog, The Plog, written by PJ, is about a woman’s experience as a leukemia patient and cord blood transplant recipient. She writes both about normal day to day experiences and surviving cancer. In January she celebrated her birthday with a morning run:

What made me go out for a run this morning at 7:30 when the temperature flirted with thirty? The flip answer is: because I could. The real reason I braved black ice was that today marks the completion of 54 years of living. There were moments over the past 22 months when I didn't think I'd survive to celebrate this day, let alone run two miles. My mother died of cancer when she was 53, and ever since I received my leukemia diagnosis at 52, it's been impossible for me not to dwell on her untimely death. Those were footsteps I did not want to follow.

Do you have any favorite personal cancer blogs that you follow? Do you write one?

*From Wikipedia.org: Blogosphere is a collective term encompassing all blogs and their interconnections. It is the perception that blogs exist together as a connected community (or as a collection of connected communities) or as a social network.