Lorenzo Suozzi is not the young man that he was six months ago.

The 20-year-old has moved out of his parents’ home and into a renovated condo. He’s resumed studies at Arizona State University, go-karting and working out; all seemingly typical activities of a person of his age.

For Lorenzo, these activities are momentous steps after a bone marrow transplant.

After the June transplant from an anonymous male donor, Lorenzo has recovered from biophenotypic leukemia. The transplant has grafted to 97 percent of Lorenzo’s body, according to his father, Ross.

A bone marrow transplant is a procedure to replace an individual’s faulty bone marrow stem cells.

The elder Suozzi knows that cancer treatments terrify many people. He and his wife, Corinna, both cancer survivors and the owners of Peaks Athletic Club, have shared their experiences to update readers about scientific advancements to overcome diseases easier.

“This disease (cancer) is going to affect everybody eventually. It’s going to happen to family, friends and spouse and they need to understand that there is a little more to it than fear and get beyond it.

“Lorenzo’s doctor was like a NASCAR pit crew on the treatment,” said Suozzi in praising the aggressive approach by Lorenzo’s physician, Dr. Jonathan A. Abbas, an oncologist and hematologist with Arizona Oncology Associates.

Lorenzo didn’t begin to feel better until at least 100 days after the transplant.

“I’m still not normal. It’s slow getting back to normal. You go from your Mom forcing you to eat and you slowly start getting back into everything,” he said.

“I literally sat on the bed. I didn’t want to get up and move. It’s the one time in your life that you want to be a vegetable.”

In advance of the bone marrow transplant at HonorHealth in Scottsdale, he received chemotherapy and full-body radiation treatments to destroy the faulty stem cells and suppress his immune system.

His brother, Dominic, did not prove to be a bone marrow match. All Lorenzo knows about his anonymous donor is that it was a male.

Once infused with the bone marrow, he waited 10 to 12 days for the white blood cells to increase.

“Mine took on really quickly,” he recalled.

On a negative note, he developed a gastrointestinal complication, an acute graft versus host disease.

“I could not eat for more than two weeks,” he added.

Lorenzo’s weight dropped by 30 pounds. He has since gained back about four pounds and is beginning to build muscle.

“It was really hard to go from eating nothing to eating something,” he said.

There was never a revealing moment when his doctor informed him that the transplant was successful.

“One morning, I awoke and my white blood count was moving up. I guess that meant it worked.”

In the days leading to the transplant, Lorenzo’s medical team never expressed any doubt whether it would be successful.

“I never questioned whether I was going to make it or not. I think there is a point that you don’t care,” Lorenzo added.

“I was in intense pain and didn’t want to be in that condition the rest of my life.”

The medical team’s concern was how he would cope with chemo and avoiding infection, he said. His blood is tested every two weeks.

“It’s still not 100 percent over. We’re making sure my immune system grafts properly.”

Lorenzo remains optimistic yet realistic about his health and the possible reoccurrence of cancer.

“If it comes back, you have to deal with it,” he said.

“You can’t fear your chances of getting it.”

His message to anyone hearing about his experience is, “If I told you there was a cure, why wouldn’t you try it? If I told you that you have a 90 percent chance of living if you did it, would you? Yeah. If you enjoy life, you’ll do it.”