Stem Cell Transplant Success

The watching and waiting continued until August 18, 2021 Until then, my blood numbers were relatively stable, although there was a pattern of decline in some key indicators like red blood cells and hemoglobin At the same time, I noticed that I was eating less and losing some weight Fortunately, no ‘blasts’ had shown up. However, the overall indications were that things were deteriorating. Dr. Gupta felt that the disease was acting more aggressively and that it was time to consider‘treatmentoptions.’

Those options were limited to participating in a drug trial (MANIFEST-2) or pursuing the possibility of a stem cell transplant The drug trial was not a curative option, but the stem cell transplant held out the possibility of being curative We chose to pursue the Stem Cell Transplant Fortunately for me, a perfect 10/10 and willing, unrelated donor was found on the international stem cell registry

In October 2021, we met with Dr. Auro Viswabandya and the transplant team at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. We discussed in detail the transplant process, the pre-transplant testing, and the adverse effects associated with the conditioning chemotherapy and radiation required. It was also decided that since my enlarged spleen would act like a sponge for the stem cells,itwouldbebesttotakesometimetoreduceitssizeby taking Jakavi

After about 3 months, the spleen was sufficiently reduced in size to proceed with the transplant. So, in March 2022, during the height of the Covid pandemic, we made the 2-day drive to Toronto to go through it. When we got there, further testing was done. Then, I checked into the hospital and received the required chemotherapy (4 days) and radiation (1 day). On March 22, 2022, five bags of stem cells were pumped into me. Then, it was a waiting game to see if the stem cells would ‘engraft’ and my blood numbers, which were extremely low at this point, would start to recover.Luckily forme,afterabout15 days,they did.