So for those of you who dont know I will be flying to San Diego to receive an Autologous stem cell transplant. This SCT will use my own stem cells which are harvested from my own peripheral blood. I will then be treated with high-dose chemotherapy and possibly total body radiation, to kill as many of the leukemia cells as possible. It also looks as if they will be removing my spleen because of the high amount of bad cells in the spleen. One of the spleens normal functions is to remove worn-out blood cells from the bloodstream. So in my case the leukemia has caused the spleen to become too large, it may become too active in removing blood cells, leading to a shortage of red blood cells or platelets. When this happens, taking out the spleen can help improve blood counts. They have had me on steriods for an extended period so will be nice to end all meds. After all that, then the stem cells are reinfused into the blood after treatment. Autologous transplants are generally easier to tolerate than allogeneic transplants because i am getting my own cells back, so the risk of complications is smaller. Autologous stem cell transplants are being studied for use in CLL, so I am fortunate I have been chosen as one of the subjects and that my insurance is paying for a great deal of it. In addition they will also do a treatment with hopes of slowing or stopping the progression of my multiple sclerosis. I will leave Tuesday and will try to keep everyone posted as I am able. Prayers are appreciated and needed.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 01:39:56 +0000