Couple Fighting Cancer Together Ring All-Clear Bell At Same Time

A couple who had fought their own leukemia battles at the same time finally rang the "Victory Bell" together celebrating both getting the all-clear and ending their treatments. Marilyn and Kevin Sittniewski couldn’t hold back their tears as they completed the symbolic gesture, usually for individuals completing their own cancer fights, marking the end of a nearly eight-year journey. Marilyn was first diagnosed with B cell ALL leukemia in August 2014 and had to undergo two bone marrow transplants in 2015 and 2016. With Marilyn making a recovery, Kevin's journey then started in 2019, when he thought he was feeling fatigued from stress but was also diagnosed with leukemia. Despite her condition, Marilyn helped Kevin through a long seven-week stay in hospital, only to go to a neurologist and find masses on her spinal cord. With the news that her leukemia was back, Marilyn then underwent a car T-cell transplant in 2020, which resulted in months-long hospital stays and complications with pneumonia. During the recovery process, Marilyn did all she could to speak to others battling leukemia, offering advice, and focusing on exercise, taking things one day at a time. The couple underwent treatment at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, in Buffalo, New York, and one day, on a walk, the couple noticed a statue in downtown Buffalo, which Roswell had built. It was at that point, Marilyn said, that she and Kevin committed to ringing the facility’s victory bell together once they had completed their treatments. The couple’s recent scans and bloodwork have shown no indication of cancer, and on February 6, Marilyn and Kevin headed to the facility for their victory bell celebration. Mandatory video credit: Roswell Park Cancer Ctr / T&T Creative