I know it's been a long time since I've posted, but I've had a lot to think about over the last few weeks. I have made the decision to have the transplant and am now waiting for the hospital to set a date. It looks like it's going to be mid July, which means I'll be back in the hospital for most of the month of July. My sister Chelsea will be undergoing some tests to make sure that everything is okay to go ahead with the transplant, then once we have the green light, I will be back in the hospital. I will start with more chemo - very intense, to kill off all of my own bone marrow, then a few days later I will have the transplant, which is basically a glorified blood transfusion. Then it's recovery time. Most likely 2 weeks of recovery in the hospital before they can let me go home. Then they say it's a minimum 6-12 months of recovery after until I'm back to normal (whatever that is).
This link goes over the procedure: http://www.cancercenter.com/stem-cell/stem-cell-allogeneic.cfm
Thursday 24 May 2012
Wednesday 2 May 2012
ROCK [me] HARD PLACE
After months of waiting, I finally have more information about the transplant, however the decision to have the transplant is entirely mine. For those who don't know, I can confirm that I may possibly be the most indecisive person alive - a trait that I thought I could pass off as a cute little quirk. Not anymore. I am now faced with what may be the most important decision of my life.
As things stand right now, I have completed the regular course of treatment for AML and am in remission. That was the easy part. Now I need to stay in remission. If I chose to continue on with my life as if the last three months have been just a speed bump there is a 30-40% chance I will relapse. If the cancer comes back it may not be beaten as easily next time.
I've said before that Chelsea is a match. She is as perfect a match you can find aside from an identical twin. The good news is that transplant cuts the odds of relapse in half. The bad news is that transplant comes with its own pile of side effects which make the survival rate about the same as doing nothing at all.
Should I chose to go with the transplant I am looking at a long recovery process. With stem cell transplants rejection occurs in the opposite way to a traditional organ transplant. Instead of the host (me) attacking the foreign substance in the body, the graft (donor) attacks the host and we get what is called Graft versus Host Disease. This happens when the donor stem cells see the new body as foreign and attack various tissues. A small degree of GVHD is favourable in curing the leukemia, however too much can cause serious problems and in some cases, death. I have my age and the fact that Chelsea is such a close match working in my favour, but no one can predict how a body will react in this situation.
If this wasn't enough to think about, I have to consider that the transplant will likely leave me infertile. Oh... And one more thing... I mentioned before that my sister has her own health problems... There is a good chance that they will also become mine.
All this to consider and me with no crystal ball... Stay tuned...
As things stand right now, I have completed the regular course of treatment for AML and am in remission. That was the easy part. Now I need to stay in remission. If I chose to continue on with my life as if the last three months have been just a speed bump there is a 30-40% chance I will relapse. If the cancer comes back it may not be beaten as easily next time.
I've said before that Chelsea is a match. She is as perfect a match you can find aside from an identical twin. The good news is that transplant cuts the odds of relapse in half. The bad news is that transplant comes with its own pile of side effects which make the survival rate about the same as doing nothing at all.
Should I chose to go with the transplant I am looking at a long recovery process. With stem cell transplants rejection occurs in the opposite way to a traditional organ transplant. Instead of the host (me) attacking the foreign substance in the body, the graft (donor) attacks the host and we get what is called Graft versus Host Disease. This happens when the donor stem cells see the new body as foreign and attack various tissues. A small degree of GVHD is favourable in curing the leukemia, however too much can cause serious problems and in some cases, death. I have my age and the fact that Chelsea is such a close match working in my favour, but no one can predict how a body will react in this situation.
If this wasn't enough to think about, I have to consider that the transplant will likely leave me infertile. Oh... And one more thing... I mentioned before that my sister has her own health problems... There is a good chance that they will also become mine.
All this to consider and me with no crystal ball... Stay tuned...
Tuesday 1 May 2012
Day 3...
I'm feeling much better and my arm has returned to a normal size but I am still being held captive in the hospital. With no TV and limited internet, I have been left to go insane in confinement. I am told that I will be released once my blood counts come up (who needs an immune system?).
I have been waiting (im)patiently since Sunday morning and this is all I have to show for it.
White blood cell count 0.7 and holding steady. Hemoglobin slowly dropping and Platelets only went up because I had a transfusion and have dropped again since. White blood cells are the infection fighters... so until they decide to do some work, I'm trapped. I'm trying to will my body to produce more white blood cells. Wish me luck.
I have been waiting (im)patiently since Sunday morning and this is all I have to show for it.
White blood cell count 0.7 and holding steady. Hemoglobin slowly dropping and Platelets only went up because I had a transfusion and have dropped again since. White blood cells are the infection fighters... so until they decide to do some work, I'm trapped. I'm trying to will my body to produce more white blood cells. Wish me luck.
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