So, after doing two more rounds of chemo, two more PET scans, and repeating all my previous tests (EKG, echo, PFT and blood work) I was approved for my second transplant. It is sort of a bittersweet accomplishment because I am ready to do the transplant and glad I got approved; but at the same time sad that I had to leave my family and just dreading the whole process.
This transplant will be a little different than my last one. The chemo I am doing this time is different and is given for a longer time period. I will have 8 days of chemo and then my rest day before they infuse the stem cells. This time, since the stem cells came from my sister and not myself there is a chance of rejection and graft versus host disease.
I started my chemo last night at about 10pm. My first chemo is Busulfan, which they are infusing over 2 hours every six hours. So I get my doses at about 10 and 4. I will get a total of 12 doses before moving on to the next chemo Fludarabine, which they give every 24 hours for a total of 5 times.
It is so much easier to think of the things that I will be missing out on by being here in LA than in finding reasons to be appreciative of it, but that is exactly what I need to do. The pastor at my church has talked about how happiness depends on what is happening to or around you, but joy is more than that, deeper than that. That is what I want to exhibit through this whole process, joy.
Thank you for your continued prayers.
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Monday, August 4, 2014
One more year
I was looking back at my blog and realized that I haven't updated it in over a year...oops! To be honest, I get tired of being a Debbie Downer, I get tired of getting good news and then bad news...so I got tired of sharing it too.
Last June I was told I still had some spots on my scan but I was in remission. When I went for a follow-up scan in August, the cancer was all over. I remember the scan report saying that all lymph systems were involved and there was activity in my bones...it wasn't good news at all.
The doctors talked about my options at the time. They really wanted me to get on this drug trial, but I missed the cutoff, so they began me on a new (to me) chemo treatment of Bendamustine. I had treatment two days a week every 4 weeks. I completed a total of six cycles over the next several months. Some of my treatments had to be pushed back because my counts hadn't recovered as well as they needed to in order to receive the next treatment. This treatment has been really hard on my platelet counts.
In January, I believe it was after 3 or 4 cycles of treatment, I had a GREAT scan! It said that pretty much everything was gone. So, after a positive scan my doctors began to prepare for the next steps and plan out the future treatment plan. They said that my best option of getting rid of my cancer would be to do another stem cell transplant, this time with donor cells instead of my own. There is a 25% chance of having a sibling as a match and I figuring having three siblings just increased those chances. My siblings and I sent in our blood samples so that it could be determined if any of them were my HLA match. I was relieved when we found out that my sister was a match!
During this time, I finished my 6 cycles of treatment and also completed my tests required for approval; to make sure I am healthy enough for transplant. The transplant was approved and then it was my sisters turn to have tests to make sure she was healthy enough to donate. After they got her results; and she of course was healthy enough; they started the mobilization of her cells. She had to get a shot of Neupogen daily for 4 days and then she went to the hemapheresis unit of UCLA and they collected her stem cells. She was able to get all they needed after one day of donation so she was able to go home.
Before I could be admitted for my transplant they needed one last test, an updated PET scan. It had been a couple of months since my last chemo and I had started to feel some swollen lymph nodes so it wasn't really a surprise to me when I found out my scan wasn't very good. They started me back on my chemo right away. The plan is to scan me again in a few weeks and see whether I need another cycle of treatment or if I can go to transplant. So, that is where I am at now. Just waiting to see what the next scan says.
Last June I was told I still had some spots on my scan but I was in remission. When I went for a follow-up scan in August, the cancer was all over. I remember the scan report saying that all lymph systems were involved and there was activity in my bones...it wasn't good news at all.
The doctors talked about my options at the time. They really wanted me to get on this drug trial, but I missed the cutoff, so they began me on a new (to me) chemo treatment of Bendamustine. I had treatment two days a week every 4 weeks. I completed a total of six cycles over the next several months. Some of my treatments had to be pushed back because my counts hadn't recovered as well as they needed to in order to receive the next treatment. This treatment has been really hard on my platelet counts.
In January, I believe it was after 3 or 4 cycles of treatment, I had a GREAT scan! It said that pretty much everything was gone. So, after a positive scan my doctors began to prepare for the next steps and plan out the future treatment plan. They said that my best option of getting rid of my cancer would be to do another stem cell transplant, this time with donor cells instead of my own. There is a 25% chance of having a sibling as a match and I figuring having three siblings just increased those chances. My siblings and I sent in our blood samples so that it could be determined if any of them were my HLA match. I was relieved when we found out that my sister was a match!
During this time, I finished my 6 cycles of treatment and also completed my tests required for approval; to make sure I am healthy enough for transplant. The transplant was approved and then it was my sisters turn to have tests to make sure she was healthy enough to donate. After they got her results; and she of course was healthy enough; they started the mobilization of her cells. She had to get a shot of Neupogen daily for 4 days and then she went to the hemapheresis unit of UCLA and they collected her stem cells. She was able to get all they needed after one day of donation so she was able to go home.
Before I could be admitted for my transplant they needed one last test, an updated PET scan. It had been a couple of months since my last chemo and I had started to feel some swollen lymph nodes so it wasn't really a surprise to me when I found out my scan wasn't very good. They started me back on my chemo right away. The plan is to scan me again in a few weeks and see whether I need another cycle of treatment or if I can go to transplant. So, that is where I am at now. Just waiting to see what the next scan says.
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