It was 1976 when Mushtaque, a young college student in Indiana, received a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia. His physician told him he should prepare himself for inevitable death. But Mushtaque’s cousin, a physician in Los Angeles, knew that City of Hope had recently launched a BMT program. She urged Mushtaque’s family to contact them.

Mushtaque arrived at City of Hope believing that the highly investigational BMT procedure would be his only hope for survival. In his favor, Mushtaque had 10 siblings, increasing his chances for a perfect donor match. After doctors identified several brothers as potential donors, Mushtaque underwent the BMT, becoming the sixth patient at City of Hope to undergo the procedure and hoping to become the first survivor.

Mushtaque endured high-dose chemotherapy, three hours of total body irradiation and a month of complete isolation. Mushtaque and the entire BMT staff were thrilled when he started to produce healthy marrow cells and began the path to recovery. In December 1977, Mushtaque celebrated the first anniversary of his transplantation. His survival represented a landmark occasion and symbolized enormous hope in the battle against cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Extraordinarily, Mushtaque has enjoyed a healthy and active life. In 1991, he ran the Los Angeles Marathon. Later, he became a long-distance bicyclist. Today, at 57, he stays fit with yoga, enjoys time with family and friends and is an avid world traveler. Reflecting on the advances of stem cell research, Mushtaque said, “Each day, there are new cancer patients, who ask: ‘Will I survive? Will I have a normal life after the BMT?’ Thanks to City of Hope’s commitment to research and its mission to care for each of us with compassion, patients are able to hear the answer they so long to hear: ‘Yes, it is possible to survive. Yes, it is possible to live a normal life. I am living proof of that.’”