When Blood Breaks Down

Life Lessons from Leukemia

By: Mikkael A. Sekeres

Narrated by: Mike Lenz

Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

When you are told that you have leukemia, your world stops. Your brain can't function. You are asked to make decisions about treatment almost immediately, when you are not in your right mind. And yet you pull yourself together and start asking questions. Beside you is your doctor, whose job it is to solve the awful puzzle of bone marrow gone wrong. The two of you are in it together. In When Blood Breaks Down, Mikkael Sekeres, a leading cancer specialist, takes listeners on the journey that patient and doctor travel together.

Sekeres tells the compelling stories of three people who receive diagnoses of adult leukemia within hours of each other: Joan, a 48-year-old surgical nurse, a caregiver who becomes a patient; David, a 68-year-old former factory worker who bows to his family's wishes and pursues the most aggressive treatment; and Sarah, a 36-year-old pregnant woman who must decide whether to undergo chemotherapy and put her fetus at risk. We join the intimacy of the conversations Sekeres has with his patients, and watch as he teaches trainees. Along the way, Sekeres also explores leukemia in its different forms and the development of drugs to treat it - describing, among many other fascinating details, the invention of the bone marrow transplant and a treatment that targets the genetics of leukemia.

©2020 Mikkael A. Sekeres (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

most engaging …. an absolute must

Dr. Sekeres’ book shines with engaging, informative, and deeply human stories ….told from the intimate privilege of his being a physician in the corridors of leukemia.
He brings us into lives whose sufferings and strengths come alive in stories which resonate with intimacy and a genuine fondness, both humbling and profound.

“When Blood Breaks Down” is alternately funny, brave about pain….and full of a deep compassion for the complex colors of the human experience, amid the tinctures of wide ranging emotions attending each sudden arrival of a life threatening diagnosis….

We live the changing and challenging new journies unfolding ahead for everyone involved.

I’ve already listened to this wonderful and life changing book several times through….and I’m sure I will again.
I am eagerly looking
forward to another such encounter with this uniquely gifted teller of the human story.



Anne McChristian Blake, Esq.

Excellent book for leukemia patients

This caring physician’s perspective is wonderful to hear. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will recommend it to other CML patients.

Enjoyed the stories

I enjoyed listening to the stories of the families and learning about the different types of Leukemia. I received some info I didn’t know regarding AML which is why I was reading the book. My 17 year old son is on day +16 for SCT from relapsed AML. We have already been through a year and a half of treatments but there is still so much we don’t know. Thank you for sharing.

Very interesting and informative

Excellent book for anyone who wants to learn about leukemia or those who want an inside view of a hematologist's daily life.

A very helpful book

My daughter has a member of her family that has suspected leukemia. I wanted to get as much information that I could. This Dr explains the process in a very easy to listen format. A story of his patients that keeps you interested while giving all the information you need. Great book. If only all Drs could be as compassionate as this one.

Engaging and informative

This book was hard to put down, as I was very interested in how each character developed. I was recently diagnosed with AML and was looking for a resource I could understand. This book put me on another level of understanding my illness and my doctors. Highly Recommend!

Great book

Clarified lots of doubts I had after being diagnosed with AML and prior to my stem cell transplantation.

Great book!

This was fascinating- to hear the stories/journeys of 3 different patients, each w/ a different type of leukemia. Woven in are the historical background of the treatments & advances. And growing up in a Cleveland suburb, it was fun to hear bits & pieces of northern Ohio. Great narration too! Highly recommend!

Exceptional!

I listen to this book in one day! The story telling is just so compelling and the content relatability is one of a kind. It’s a must read for anyone who struggles to understand blood cancers or who lives with one like I do.