Treatment Plan per Stem Cell Specialist

Well, Friends....looks like my overall treatment plan will cover about 3 months time with a recovery time that extends for several months beyond. Yes, it seems a bit daunting but I just keep thinking of it as a "marathon for life" knowing that at the end I will have won the race!

The treatment plan includes 3 chemo cycles (3 weeks apart) prior to the Stem Cell transplant/infusion (from here just referred to as transplant). Each chemo cycle take 5 days starting with 2-days of out-patient treatments followed with a 3-day in-hospital stay. After the second cycle, a PET scan will be needed to see if the "tumor" is responding (shrinking) which means I AM an eligible candidate for the stem cell transplant. If not, they would move on to other therapies to create that result and move forward toward the transplant. Assuming it responds right away, which is what we expect since it did last time, then I will proceed to the third chemo cycle. During that last 3-day chemo hospital stay they will run some tests on my heart, lungs, etc. to insure I am healthy enough for the transplant. Again, they expect no problems with this since I am considered young for a stem cell transplant. They are usually working with patients in their 60's and 70's. Once my third cycle of chemo is complete, a couple days later I will return for 1-2 days of out-patient visits where they will harvest my stem cells. Previously stem cells where harvested directly from the bone marrow but times have changed and now they retreive them from the blood so it is a much less invasive precedure for harvesting.

Following all this, I will then proceed into the hospital for the stem cell transplant. This is the most invasive proceedure as it consists of 4-5 days a intense, high-levels of chemo that virtually eradicates the cancer but the side effect is that it completely kills my bone marrow too. This means I have no immune system so visitors at the hospital will be limited to family only. Following the 4-5 days of chemo, they consider you at day zero which is when they infuse your stem cells back to you and they naturally migrate back into the bone to begin regrowing your marrow. It takes numerous days for your white blood cell count to appear and then the remainder of the stay at the hospital is them monitoring you against infections (and other various side effects) to assist your body while the bone marrow and blood counts return to healthy levels. This will take a minimum of 2 weeks from day zero for a total minimum stay of 3 weeks. Dependent on my body re-stablizing, I will then be released for in-home recovery.

In-home recovery is expected to take several months. Been told I will not be able to go out of the house to do my "candle party business" for at least a month (so anyone who wants to hold a catalog party - yeh, give a call or send an email and my "helpers" will get you out the materials you need!). I'm expected to be able to return to some normal activities within a month within my home. Then following that I will be allowed out as directed by the doctor. Overall, complete recovery back to complete normal blood counts and everything can take up to a year.

So...there it is. My marathon for life. Everyone's assistance will so appreciated...whatever you can do. Sign in to the yahoo group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/joansupport/ to get mail, watch the calendar and check any posts regarding help needed. And always remember that positive thoughts and healing prayers are always welcome.

Looks like my first chemo cycle will be December 8th and if everything goes perfectly smooth then I will enter the hospital approximately January 26th for the month stay. That brings me home for the first month of recover around February 26th.