My neighbor Claudia kindly drove me to Dana-Farber today for my monthly check-up. Blood draw, vital signs, doctor exam. The biggest news is that I gained six lbs. in four weeks, thanks to the binge eating brought on by the prednisone.
My liver is happy, my kidneys are happy, my blood production is going well.
WBC: 8.3
RBC: 2.96
HEM: 11.1
HCT: 33.0
I am seven months post-transplant.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Adirondack Mountains, Feb. 2007
Tale of a Cord Blood Transplantee Who Relapses and Goes on to Have a Matched Unrelated-Donor Transplant
The Weight
Adirondack Mountains, Feb. 2007
ABOUT ME
In March 2006, I was diagnosed with a blood cancer called Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML). Life as I knew it came to a crashing halt. After enduring a month in the hospital where I received intense chemotherapy, I was declared "in remission." I had three additional treatments and remained cancer-free until May 2007, when I relapsed.
My only shot at survival was to have a stem cell transplant. However, my brothers' immune markers didn't match mine, and an international search of bone marrow registries found no perfect matches. A transplant using the blood from two umbilical cords was recommended. I grasped at this straw in September 2007. It seemed to work.
This blog tells the story of my transplant and recovery, replete with outrageous slings and arrows. The expression "blood is thicker than water" has new meaning for me. I remained alive due to the blood of strangers, two of them, both male. Thanks guys.
The plot thickened when I relapsed 19 months into my new remission and had to go through the same rigamarole once more. This time, I received stem cells from a matched adult donor who was identified last go round but didn't fit into the necessary time frame. Charles Dickens could have fun with this, the stuff of pulp fiction.
I remain in remission 4 years later. My donor keeps leukemic cells in check but finds interesting ways to attack my body. Chronic graft versus host disease keeps me firmly entrenched in the medical world. And so it goes.
My only shot at survival was to have a stem cell transplant. However, my brothers' immune markers didn't match mine, and an international search of bone marrow registries found no perfect matches. A transplant using the blood from two umbilical cords was recommended. I grasped at this straw in September 2007. It seemed to work.
This blog tells the story of my transplant and recovery, replete with outrageous slings and arrows. The expression "blood is thicker than water" has new meaning for me. I remained alive due to the blood of strangers, two of them, both male. Thanks guys.
The plot thickened when I relapsed 19 months into my new remission and had to go through the same rigamarole once more. This time, I received stem cells from a matched adult donor who was identified last go round but didn't fit into the necessary time frame. Charles Dickens could have fun with this, the stuff of pulp fiction.
I remain in remission 4 years later. My donor keeps leukemic cells in check but finds interesting ways to attack my body. Chronic graft versus host disease keeps me firmly entrenched in the medical world. And so it goes.
4 comments:
Yea...Everything sounds good, Brian and I have been watching the blog and now that things are quieting down at work we'll be in touch more. We are going to Boston tomorrow (wed.) and will try to call and check in. Stay well.
MaryBeth & Brian
Great numbers and great news!
Glad to hear things are going well. Missed you yesterday and started to get concerned. Keep up the good work and you'll need Jenny Craig in no time!!
Hi PJ, just caught up on you again. I'm in Athens (Greece) rather worried about non-existent jobs than health. (That's good! Especially since the jobs have been coming in since yesterday.) I find your entry on the different styles and techniques in blog writing and book writing highly interesting. Keep it up! In admiration, Brenda
Post a Comment