Hi JaniceM.,
RNPeggyh, had a great answer for you. Some people with CLL don't ever need therapy and some do need treatment, It depends on how aggressive your CLL is and how many other factors affect your CLL, like the different chromosomes
factors or deletions you have related to the CLL. Your age is factor, what stage you are in is a factor, how healthy you eat and if you exercise and stay active, all have an impact on how long you live. Your oncologist can tell you their take on how aggressive your CLL is and they can share their prognosis.
As RN Peggyh said, enjoy your life and try not to worry about the CLL, it isn't going anywhere. Being positive or having a positive outlook also helps your CLL and your mental health. I think it is so easy to let CLL consume your life. CLL is one of the slower growing leukemia's, so at least you have a chance to live a long life!
If you are in watch and wait, then you are in the early stages of the disease. As RNPeggyh said, people with CLL can develop other types of cancers that may affect your health much more than the CLL. The biggest issue I have with CLL is it affects your ability to fight off other things, like other cancers, or viruses, or infections and it can really wear you down to where you are more susceptible to illnesses and fatigue.
Of all the leukemia's, if I had a choice of which one to pick, I would pick CLL. Having it can be a roller coaster, but mostly it not so aggressive as some of the other leukemia's. Some people with a more aggressive form of CLL would disagree with me, but for my stage of CLL, I feel I will have a long life. I do have symptoms like, fatigue, muscle aches and joint pain, and I get sick more easily but other than that I am doing really well! I don't heal as quickly, but at least I do heal!
CLL is a marathon! How well you do in the marathon, will be revealed with testing, and with time.
I hope all goes well for you and that your CLL does not give you to much of a headache. Many wise people are on this site and they can also share their experience. CLL affects people differently. There is tons of information on CLL, from this site and other reputable cancer sites like the lymphoma/leukemia society and other sites too.
Best of luck and welcome!

I was diagnosed in 2020 with CLL and probably had it since 2014 (10 years now), when my lymphocytes stated to go up a little. My PCP was curious at the pattern in 2020 and had me tested. Today, my lymphocytes are still at about 5.2 and the rest of my labs are normal. I don't have symptoms. My doc at Mayo Clinic doesn't think I will need treatment but if I do, there are many options out there. I hope my doc is right, of course!

I try not to think of Death....I am Too busy trying to live the Best life I can..Eat healthy.....Live Healthy ... Exercise...And keep stress out of my life the best I can....and all this helps manages my Leukemia....I keep a positive attitude.... which is very important....Faith over Fear.... Don't let the old fear in ....

JanisM, The good news is that CLL doesn't often lead directly to death. I attended a lecture by a University professor, researcher clinician specialist in CLL recently when I was on vacation in California at a one-day conference put on by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of northern California. He explained that because CLL is usually so slow-growing, that the vast majority of people die *with* CLL, but not *from* CLL. We will likely die some day from another cause. I found that comforting. Over time, the spontaneously mutated CLL cells we have will continue to make copies. These CLL B cells, (a type of white blood cell that has to do with antibodies) can take up the space where we would have normally have healthy functioning cells. So the more we have, the less effective that part of our immune system works. If our numbers get too high, we will need treatment, but if we get an infection when we have high CLL numbers, we might not be able to fight off the infection easily and that might include other cancer cells that could show up that a healthier immune system could possibly just destroy. When our numbers go too high, we can also get one form of anemia or another. So the best way to live with CLL, from what I gather, is to try to live a healthy life including nutritious food, exercise and time outdoors in nature and do things to not be stressed. Different people in this group may have different mutations or delations or mutation status than each other and some of those factors will determine how well our cells will respond to treatments we may need or how quickly our numbers may get high for the first time or after a sucessful period of treatment. I'm sorry that I am not answering your question more directly. This is what I have learned so far.

I agree to try and stay active as possible! I have good days and bad days. My lymph nodes and spleen have have got larger and I have been put on chemo med Calquence three months ago. Dizziness, no energy, head aches, diarrhea are a daily occurrence. My blood counts have got a little better. Trying to deal with this cancer cell killing drug, hoping it will help……