June 10th. update

With the date of Carol’s transplant coming up soon, she needs to undergo several tests to make sure all of her organs are in good condition to go ahead with the transplant. This week we already had two trips to Moffitt for her tests and for many required meetings with doctors, nurses, social workers, etc. If everything continues according to plans Carol will be admitted to Moffitt on June 27th.

What happens when she is admitted?
Her stay at the hospital was described to us as the “100 days” treatment.
Carol will have 7 days of chemotherapy treatment. These 7 days break down to 6 days of the chemo drugs infusion and one day monitoring results and side effects but without any more chemo.
The actual transplant day is called “Day 0” of her treatment.
For some reason the count of the treatment chemo described above starts as day “minus 7”.

After the 7 day chemo is done they start the count as “DAY 0”.
On “DAY 0” she will be given the donor’s peripheral “STEM CELLS” which are collected and shipped to Moffitt from an overseas location where the donor resides. We are not allowed to know where the donor resides, but we were told the donor is a 24 year old female and not from the USA.
For at least 2 weeks after the transplant she stays at the Moffitt’s Bone Marrow Transplant wing.
After that she will be released from Moffitt, but must stay at a local housing location (not determined yet) for the following 2 months. She will need to stay nearby to be constantly seen and tested to monitor her progress.

Side effects from the chemotherapy drugs are expected to be stronger than what she experienced during the two rounds of the “CLAG” chemo protocol she just finished, but there are other possible side effects related to this type of transplant. Mainly the side effects are caused by the NEW STEM CELLS fighting Carol’s remaining stem cells, which is expected with this protocol.

Here is a brief technical explanation:
The type of Bone Marrow Transplant Carol will be having is called “Allogeneic” which means the stem cells come from a DONOR, not her own.
The additional symptoms caused by the transfusion of the new “Stem Cells” is called “Graft Versus Host Disease” (GVHD)
All patients going through an allogeneic transplant are expected to encounter some side effects, but all patients react differently. No specific scenario is given but we are told to expect side effects to occur, mainly on her skin, mouth, eyes, digestive system and liver, but since Carol’s physical condition is above other patients having similar treatment, we hope that her side effects are milder. Medications will be given on an as needed basis to combat any of these side effects.

Some of you expressed interest in finding out more details about this procedure, so here is a link for those of you to learn: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GVHD

We also wanted to thank Carol’s friend Janie, who will be participating in a 100 mile bike ride on November 7th. She will be pedaling to help raise money to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in Carol’s honor. “Thank you Janie!!!”
Interested in learning more? Check out her site/blog for more details and pictures: http://pages.teamintraining.org/sun/curewhee10/jewellyjij

The lighter side ;)
Carol’s sister Susan will be visiting again next weekend. “YEAH”
Of course, there is already a glow on Carol’s face. I already know what these two will be doing next weekend, aside of their endless conversations, they will definitely have plans for many physical activities. Walks, bike rides, rows….. (No mountain climbing in Sarasota for now except for the Ringling Bridge)

Ok, that’s all for now.
More updates soon.Thank you.
Jaime