For years, Susan Arnold approached the world with a scientist's curiosity. As a research scientist and aerospace executive, she was trained to analyze evidence and understand how complex technical systems work. But when an ER doctor casually told her she had leukemia, she found herself confronting an entirely new scientific landscape, one she had to navigate as an uninformed patient, not an expert researcher.
After grappling with the harsh reality of her diagnosis, she approached her treatment plan as the most significant scientific experiment she would ever participate in. In Hacking My Blood, she shares her experiences as a blood cancer patient, offering a rare perspective on serious illness through the eyes of someone whose instinct is to learn.
As she moved through diagnosis, chemotherapy, stem cell transplantation, and recovery, Arnold sought to understand what was happening to her body and why. She describes the disease and its treatments in clear language, blending the technical details into a deeply personal story of uncertainty, resilience, and rebirth.
More than a medical memoir, this is a story about how curiosity became a source of strength and how knowledge and courage grew together.