Well, what a difference a year makes. In case you have not heard, I've had a pretty fun year. If you detect some sarcasm, you're right. After finishing up chemotherapy for Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in September 2006, I began going through checkups every three months.
At the six month marker, I had some suspicious lymph nodes show up on a scan. I opted not to do a biopsy because it would have been major surgery to get to the location of the nodes. The nodes had grown by July to the point where a biopsy could be done with a needle. In September, my worst fears were confirmed - I was dealing with a relapse.
That was the bad news. When you are in a situation like this, you look for good news. The good news was that the disease was not that widespread and that there was a proven treatment with a high cure rate. Of course, that rate is not 100%, so don't stop praying.
I started chemotherapy treatments treatments in September. Unlike last Summer, this mix of drugs really knocked me out. I got the treatments over three days, and pretty much slept for the next three days. Then, I would be back on my feet and feeling pretty normal. No real nausea to speak of, just a feeling like someone parked a bus on top of me.
After just two cycles of these treatments, I am again in remission. There is no detectable sign of the disease on my latest tests. With that good news, those treatments are over...
Unfortunately, that's not the end of the road. The next step is a big one. I will be undergoing what is called a stem cell transplant. This is similar to a bone marrow transplant, but not as invasive.
Stem cells are the foundation for many of the cells in the body. In simple terms, they have the ability to infinitely replicate themselves, and turn into other things - like white blood cells. These are not embryonic cells that are the subject of heated political and ethical debates. They are adult stem cells, and are the foundation for the body's entire immune system.
The procedure is pretty intense - take the stems cells out, destroy everything, put the stem cells back. My stem cells have been taken out of my body and frozen. This week, I check into the hospital for some major doses of chemotherapy - many multiple times that which I mentioned earlier that made me feel like a bus was parked on top of me. I guess this will be like a fleet of buses.
The intent of the chemo is pretty straightforward - kill everything except for me. Because chemo is not selective, it kills the good cells with the bad. It will destroy my entire immune system. Optimally, it will take care of the Lymphoma cells as well. Soon after I complete the chemo regimen, I get my stem cells back. They go and do their thing and regenerate my immune system in what is expected to be a Cancer-free body.
Because my immune system will be compromised, I cannot see visitors during the process, which should take anywhere from two to four weeks.
What can you do? I am using my own stem cells for this procedure because tests have shown that they are not diseased. However, there is another option at the end of the transplant routine. Instead of using my own stem cells, I could use someone else's. This option would require a donor that is a match to my cells. Using someone else's cells is a much riskier procedure than I am undergoing. However, should this treatment fail, I will need to find a matching donor.
This is where you can help. You can get yourself tested and put into the National Bone Marrow Registry. It's a simple blood test to get into the Registry, and you could end up saving someone's life. Should you actually prove to be a match for someone down the line (or me), the process of donating cells is a simple procedure done through the blood.
Keep in mind, once you are in the Registry, you are in the database for anyone seeking a donor - not just me. You may be helping someone else that is currently fighting disease or that may be fighting it in the future. I'll let you know how you can get into the database in a later post.
I'll be using this site to communicate with all of you over the next few weeks. I'll be hooked up with WiFi at the hospital, so you can send me emails at alex.sarafian@gmacfs.com or alex_sarafian@hotmail.com. I hope to post at least once a day, but that really depends on how I'm feeling.
That's all for now...
