Srinivas Gadam

Srinivas Gadam received a bachelor’s degree in medicine and surgery from Rangaraya Medical College in India. He came to the United States to continue his education, but was unexpectedly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in February of 2010.
Srinivas immediately began receiving Hyper-CVAD chemotherapy from that February until July. He had very severe complications from treatment and was admitted to the hospital. He stayed for months due to septic shock, subsequent gangrene in both of his legs, bile peritonitis, lung infection, and kidney failure. He also spent 33 days in a coma.
During this time, his mother came from India in order to help care for him. Srinivas recovered slowly, but was confined to a wheelchair as a result of the gangrene in his legs. He needed to undergo a transmetatarsal amputation on both feet, but first had to wait six months for the gangrene to heal enough for him to be suitable for surgery.
After recovering from all of his complications, Srinivas was able to walk with a cane and gained the confidence to go back to school in August of 2011. Once again his studies were sidelined when the cancer recurred in his brain. He tried his best to continue school, but he was unable to maintain the necessary hours and was required to leave the program. Because he was no longer a student, he needed to apply for a medical visa in order to stay in the country; leaving would have jeopardized his treatment. Fortunately, he was approved for this visa and was able to continue fighting his cancer.
During this round of treatment, Srinivas faced more obstacles. He had a neurological complication called cerebral edema and underwent emergency brain surgery at MD Anderson this past January. He also needed muscle grafting on his right leg for a non-healing wound caused by the gangrene. This surgery was delayed due to complications, but Srinivas did not have time to wait. He needed to undergo a cord blood transplant, a definitive treatment for his cancer, and was unable to wait until the non-healing wound was treated. Srinivas had to make the painful decision to amputate his right leg below the knee; this was the only way he could begin to move forward with the transplant.
Srinivas went through the amputation in February and recovered enough from the surgery to start transplant preparations in April. He has gained much strength and determination throughout this process and plans to continue to fight as hard as possible. As he prepares for his cord blood transplant, he is also faced with many financial obstacles and has teamed with the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation to set up a One-to-One Fund to raise donations for treatment. Please consider helping Srinivas so he can stay focused on his fight against cancer.

Click here to contribute to Srinivas’ One-to-One Fund
Or you can send a check, payable to the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation.
Be sure to include Srinivas’ name on the front of the check.
Send check to:
the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation
515 Madison Avenue, Suite 1130
New York, New York 10022