His life was forever changed when in November of 2006 he was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), a blood and bone marrow cancer that prevents myelogenous blood cells from maturing into normal white cells. Within the week he began treatment at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center, which involved a treatment of chemotherapy specifically for destroy the leukemia cells in his bone marrow. His treatment included an intensive process designed to kill most of the leukemia cells called “induction” chemotherapy, followed by three to four cycles of “consolidation” chemotherapy to finish off any remaining leukemia cells.