sjgcbm's Cancer Blog
July 17, 2008
| Transplant 101 | Views: 265 |
I wll be given an autologous stem cell transplant, meaning I am the donor – no searching for a match. During phase 1 I will be given a drug to stimulate my bone marrow to produce lots of cells. Then they will take my blood, separate out what they need to collect stem cells and then return the rest of the blood back to me.
After they have enough stem cells (they count what they collect every day), I will have serveral days of high dose chemo. Basically they wipe out my immune system so they can give me back the stem cells.
Lots of chemo regimens wipe out our immune systems; and this round of treatment will leave me hairless, like many who will be reading this.
Joyce, the treatment for myeloma has changed just in the past 2 years, so none of this would have been available when your Mom has myeloma in the 70’s. I have a friend who is a doctor – but who had not treated anyone with myeloma in so long he assumed I was going to die! I have had to reassure him that is not going to happen.
I hope this helps explain it for those of you who have asked.
06.27.08 - 
Sari 
pokytrokyt 
Lee Lehman 
Thanks for your support -
Hi Sarajane,
I was really amazed when I read what they will be doing. I didn’t realize you could be the donor for something like this. That is great that you don’t have to look for a match.
All of this new information about cancer really interests me because all of my family members had cancer except for one sister. My oldest sister died in 1958 at the age of 36 from breast cancer that spread to the brain, my father had colon cancer, my brother had throat/voice box cancer and my Mom had myeloma cancer. Because of all this cancer in my family I am especially oncerned for my 2 daughters and my grandchildren.
Thanks for sharing your information.
My love, thoughts and prayers will be with you each and every day.
Hugs,
Joyce
Joyce,
They have told me there is no genetic component to myeloma. My Dad had melanoma, as did his brother and my Mother’s sister. My brothers and I were told years ago not to sunbathe. Both my father’s parents had cancer; grandpa had mouth cancer and grandma had stomach cancer.
My oncologist said I just didn’t seem surprised to find out I had cancer. I suppose I wasn’t.
I guess now days , ya just have to grow your own I think that is a wonderful thing that will help you get well.
Hug Sherri
Good luck! I’ll be thinking about you.
And I wanted to let you know that the chemo has affected my coffee drinking. =o( It tastes horrible, and smells worse! That is so not fair!
Hi Sarajane,
Well, it is good to know that there is no genetic component to myeloma like there is to breast cancer. It is strange that my Mom got it. I was raised on a farm and when we went outside to work in the fields Mom always wore a long sleeve shirt and a big straw hat to protect herself from the sun. I never liked the heat and never liked to sunbathe. Wonder if these tanning salons do the same damage as the sun?
You had as much cancer in your family as I did. I wasn’t surprised at all when I got it. I should have had both breasts removed in 1994 and maybe I wouldn’t have had to go through it again in 2005.
Littleprencess was talking about her coffee tasting so bad. I worked as cashier/bookkeeper for the Pepsi-Cola Company for 10 years and always drank lots of Pepsi. When I was on chemo, my delicious Pepsi tasted AWFUL. I know how she feels about her coffee tasting so bad. The only thing I could eat and drink that tasted ok was milk and pretzels.
Take care, my friend. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Hugs,
Joyce
Sarajane, this treatment sounds promising I know it will be hard but it will all be worth it. No hair been there and soon to be there again with you just shave it off that’s what I did the last time I lost my hair at least I had some control over when my hair was gone. It grows back as soon as your done :-)Keeping you in my prayers
Cheryl58
Hugs,
...Sari
Sarajane I hope and pray the autologous transplant works for you I had one last July for non-hodgkins lymphoma and my cancer was back this February. I am now preparing to have radio-immuno therapy with Bexxar 131. If it doesn’t work they are planning another BMT this time from an unrelated donor. They collected 3.1 million stem cells over three days from me. This was followed by eight days of super chemo. After this I had one day off WOOHOO! The next two days they gave me my stem cells back. Hope you like cream style corn, your going to hate that part of it. The solution they freeze your stem cells in will give you the taste and smell of cream style corn. God bless you and keep you.
Jim,
Thanks for yoru comment. I am only scheduled for two dasy of high dose chemo (melphalan) but it is good to know and be prepared for the flavor impact; I’ll check with a flavor chemist friend of mine on this one, that’s for sure! Good luck with your next treatment. My thoughts and prayers are with you, along with everyone else I have “met” through the website.