When I first began my training in clinical leukemia, I had just completed my internal medicine residency. Truth be told, the knowledge base of hematological malignancies was colossal but I took a genuine interest to absorb it despite a bit of struggle. Yes, it felt like a great deal to be appointed to this clinical position. I cared mostly for patients with chronic leukemias at first. Subsequently, I rotated on the inpatient service and was really shaken at the atrocious cruelty of refractory acute leukemias. It was an early April morning and my team had just taken over the inpatient service. I gently knocked on my new patient's door and said, "Hello, good morning, sir." "Morning," fuzzily replied a frail young man. Briefly, I introduced myself and promised to return later. Soon after, upon reviewing his case, I learned that he was an unfortunate young man, only 25 years old and from south Texas, who had failed his induction chemotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia.
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