Meghan Holohan

1 week ago | today.com | Meghan Holohan

/ Source: TODAYAt age 2, Cal Carr was already reaching developmental milestones later than expected — and then she started regressing. Worried, her mom, Maria Kefalas, took her to see a variety of doctors, and the family eventually learned that Cal had a rare condition called metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD). “It was this catastrophic (brain and spinal cord) disease that was genetic. We had three children. We had no idea we were carriers,” Kefalas tells TODAY.com.

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Meghan Holohan

At age 2, Cal Carr was already reaching developmental milestones later than expected — and then she started regressing. Worried, her mom, Maria Kefalas, took her to see a variety of doctors, and the family eventually learned that Cal had a rare condition called metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD). “It was this catastrophic (brain and spinal cord) disease that was genetic. We had three children. We had no idea we were carriers,” Kefalas tells TODAY.com.

2 weeks ago | nbcchicago.com | Meghan Holohan

For months, college student Breeze Hunter, 22, felt pressure and pain in her head. “I had a lot of fluid in my ears, which was causing the headaches,” she says. “I went to a clinic a few times and they pretty much said it was a sinus infection.”After Hunter became too weak to walk to classes, she underwent a blood test. When doctors received the results, they urged her to go to the emergency room immediately. She learned she had acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive blood cancer. “I felt so scared.

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Meghan Holohan

During Thanksgiving 2013, Emma Weston, then 23, experienced intense stomach cramps. After a blood test during her annual physical uncovered low hemoglobin levels, she underwent numerous tests and learned she had Stage 3 colorectal cancer. “They found a softball- and golf ball-sized tumor in my colon,” Weston, 36, of Minneapolis, tells TODAY.com.

2 weeks ago | today.com | Meghan Holohan

/ Source: TODAYDuring Thanksgiving 2013, Emma Weston, then 23, experienced intense stomach cramps. After a blood test during her annual physical uncovered low hemoglobin levels, she underwent numerous tests and learned she had Stage 3 colorectal cancer. “They found a softball- and golf ball-sized tumor in my colon,” Weston, 36, of Minneapolis, tells TODAY.com.