OUTLINE: This is a dose escalation study. Patients receive bryostatin 1 by continuous infusion over 24 hours on day 1. One hour after completion of bryostatin 1, patients receive high dose cytarabine IV over 3 hours every 12 hours on days 2-4. Patients again receive cytarabine over 3 hours every 12 hours on days 9-11, followed 1 hour later by bryostatin 1 by continuous infusion over 24 hours beginning on day 11. Patients achieving complete remission may receive up to 4 courses of consolidation chemotherapy. Consolidation chemotherapy is the same as induction chemotherapy except patients receive only 2 doses of cytarabine after day 1 completion of bryostatin and only 2 doses of cytarabine prior to the day 11 dose of bryostatin. Patients achieving partial remission may receive a second course of induction chemotherapy. In the absence of dose limiting toxicity in the first 3 patients treated, subsequent cohorts of 6 patients receive escalating doses of bryostatin 1 on the same schedule. If dose limiting toxicity occurs in 2 of 6 patients at a given dose level, then dose escalation ceases and the current dose is defined as the maximum tolerated dose. Patients are followed every 6 months until death.