We played football together in high school. He married the cheer leader (who is my oldest friend from grammar school) and they have been married for 45 years. We traveled quite a lot but the disease followed a path where he needed blood transfusions on a regular basis. He would get a pint or two just prior to us all heading off to some place like Coasta Rica for a week. Eventually his blood was stacking up too much iron which is a result of the transfusions and decided to take the next step. He did a bone morrow transplant at age 67 and turned out that the match was almost perfect. That was two years ago. He just got back from a 10 day hike in New Zealand. Hell, I couldn't do a 10 day hike! Hang in and don't let yourself get down. You can actually beat this. Good luck.