Amy Stuart Budke was a 20-year-old sophomore at Baylor University in 1995 when she noticed persistent tenderness in her side. As a rugby player on the Texas college's team, the pain was troubling, so she had the infirmary check it out.

The doctor noticed her highly abnormal blood count and sent her for further tests — tests that revealed a life-threatening case of chronic myelogenous leukemia. Initial treatments failed to put her cancer into remission, so Amy traveled to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center for a bone-marrow transplant.

The transplant saved her life, but the battle wasn't over yet. She returned home, ready to start college again. But new symptoms, this time from a severe case of graft-vs.-host disease, interrupted school again. With intensive treatment, Amy slowly gained back her strength over the next few years, enabling her to eventually finish college.

Now, five years after her transplant, life is back to normal again — but with a few exciting changes. This summer she was married, and this fall she began teaching high school biology in the Kansas City area. Along with her husband, Brian, and dog, Hutch, she hopes to start a family someday.

"We were so overjoyed at Amy's wedding, because we felt it signified the culmination of her successful struggle against leukemia," said Amy's mother, Sally Stuart. "It's a tribute to the dedicated staff at the Hutchinson Center and a story of hope for others who face cancer."

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