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appeared 17 March 1999
Alan Kuo Beating All Odds
 Good news came last Monday to UCSF postdoc Alan Kuo -- after a four-year
struggle with chronic myelogenous leukemia, tests indicate he is free of the disease.
"I'm doing amazingly well," says Kuo, who experienced a relapse just a few
months ago. "There's reason to be upbeat." The test showed no sign of leukemia
and his chances of relapse have dropped from 40 percent or higher to below 10 percent.
"This is the best I can actually hope for statistically," Kuo says.
CML, as his disease is called, is a fatal condition with a median survival rate of three
years. Kuo, who has beaten all odds so far, underwent a bone marrow transplant in
December, 1997 after an international search for a donor match. But it is only now that he
can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"It lifts this huge emotional and psychological burden off of my shoulders and
especially off of my loved ones," he says. "I was kind of depressed for the last
few months, after having gone through so much effort, pain, time and money, etc., trying
to survive and then having this potential setback. This kind of turnaround is just
fantastic."
Although he is feeling the best he has in years, he has had to accept that he will never
be the healthy person he used to be. Nevertheless, the optimistic Kuo is learning to make
the most of his new lease on life.
In fact, he is driving again, cooking, doing household chores, things he is thankful just
to be able to do. But, because he is still immunosuppressed, he has to restrict his
activities and be careful to avoid germs. "My girlfriend and I went to a movie the
other night but we made sure it was a movie that's been out for a long time so not many
people would be there. It's those kinds of things I have to consider," he says.
Kuo, who studies molecular parasitology, is also working more than he has in a long time,
mostly from home. He cannot work in his UCSF laboratory because it specializes in
opportunistic pathogens, exactly the things an immunosuppressed person must avoid.
One of the biggest challenges in fighting CML, Kuo says, was having to lower his
expectations of himself and to form a new concept of normalcy. "I spend a lot of time
just sitting on the couch, which is a far cry from my former conception of how one should
live his life," he says. "I was a very hyperactive person, very demanding on
myself, always on the run doing things - not uncommon among UCSF people. At first it was
very difficult to accept but I've had a year to accept it. I don't kick myself anymore for
being less competent."
Kuo, 35, received his PhD in oceanography five years ago from the MIT/Woods Hole program.
He came to UCSF in 1995 to do microbiology research but a month after arriving he was
diagnosed with CML. "I came to UCSF to get medical training but got more than I
expected," says Kuo with his trademark sense of humor.
Kuo found out he had the disease after going to the ophthalmologist to get a new pair of
glasses. He had not been to a doctor for several years because he lacked adequate health
insurance as a student. So when he arrived at UCSF as a postdoc, he immediately took
advantage of his health benefits.
The ophthalmologist looked at Kuo's retinas and saw that there was evidence of
hemorrhaging in both eyes. He ordered a blood test, which found that Kuo had 50 times the
number of white blood cells than he should have. "They said it was amazing that I had
not had any symptoms," he says.
After being diagnosed, Kuo spent the next six months in good health, traveling, working
and simply enjoying being in a new city. He even spent a month backpacking in Southeast
Asia. "I came back and then began serious attempts to treat the disease. My six
months were up," he says.
Kuo was put on Interferon for two years, but the treatment did not work. During this time
he was looking for a bone marrow donor, but did not begin a "serious" search
until his condition worsened in 1997. After creating a website to attract potential
donors, getting the word out to Asian registries, and enlisting friends at UCSF and UC
Berkeley to hold donor drives, Kuo finally found a match.
Since the transplant, Kuo has been in and out of the hospital with various secondary
diseases, never sure when leukemia might strike again. His recent clean bill of health has
him celebrating and thanking those who have helped him through his grueling ordeal.
Kuo gives his doctor, UCSF oncologist Hope Rugo, much of the credit for his recovery and
says he has a new appreciation for the basic goodness of people.
"I trust people more now," Kuo says. "What impresses me is that people are
wonderful. They have hearts of gold."
Links:
Alan Kuo website (updates)
Alan Kuo Still in Seattle, but
out of Hospital
Kuo Feeling 'Fat 'n Fuzzy'
Source: Paula Murphy, Daybreak
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