Transplant Process

I will begin my first round of chemo next Tuesday in Ashland. This chemo will be an outpatient kind so I will be able to go to the infusion center and then go home. I will get 4 treatments over the next 6 weeks.

This chemo will bring me to the beginning of November where I will then head down to Mayo to begin the stem cell transplant process. This will be about a 6 week process depending on how everything goes. In these 6 weeks I will undergo many tests to check for organ function, surgery to implant a central line (and removal of my port), and may other things to make sure that I'm physically and mentally ready. I will then undergo an intense 4 days of harvesting my stem cells which will be kept and stored for me - this will be taken from my blood. Once they get the number of stem cells they need, I then will be admitted to the hospital for 7 days to undergo intense chemo therapy. The hope with the chemo is to put the disease in total remission before the transplant. They will proceed with the transplant either way, but the chances of being cured are higher with no disease present in the beginning.

After the seven (yucky) days, I will then be 'rescued' with my stem cells. My stem cells will populate and take over the blood cell production and begin to give me my strength back. Once this happens I am able to leave the hospital, but I need to stay down in Rochester for at least 2 more weeks to get checked every day by my doctor. They check for infection, blood counts etc.... The nice thing about this is that most of it is outpatient and I can come and go as I please, but I need to have a 'caregiver' with me at all times and I have to stay within a half hour of the hospital this whole time.

As of now, if everything stays on schedule, I will not be home for Thanksgiving and all the fun fall stuff that we do :(, but I'm hoping to be home for Christmas. This is the goal that I have set for myself and I'm really hoping and praying that we can make that happen.

We are now trying to figure out the details on where I will be staying down there during this period and who my caregivers will be/when. There is a lot to think about and plan during this time, but we are grateful that we have the next 6 weeks to do so. We appreciate all of you so much and all that you have done for us so far!