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.
