Thursday, November 3, 2011

The Plan

We met with my new doctor today. He talked with us (me and Ron) for quite awhile about my treatment. He said that there are two options. The first one is to continue as we have been, using the Rituxan and Methotrexate to keep the cancer at bay. But he said that that usually only works for a few months, and then the cancer will come back. The prognosis would be only months to live.

The second option is to do the bone marrow (also known as stem cell) transplant. He gave us all the scary reasons why I might not want to do it. He said that I'm older than most of their allogeneic transplant patients, and I have the disadvantage of having had a lot of chemo and other treatments already. He explained how sick I will get, how they will kill off all my cells, all the risks and awful things that can and will happen. It will be worse than the autologous transplant I had last year, where my own cells were used. I can't even imagine being sicker than I was then; it was awful. My body may try to reject my sister's cells. I'll have no immune system for several weeks and any tiny infection could kill me. After he told us all of that, I told him that I will have the transplant. He said, "Even after all that I've told you." And I said, "Yes." He seemed relieved. He said it was a reasonable decision. He said that I'm kind of "in the middle"--I'm not the best subject for this procedure, but I'm not the worst, either.

There's a lot to do before the transplant, getting me ready and making sure all my systems are healthy enough to do it. So far all of my tests have come back fine--the CT scan, my opthalmology exam, the pulmonary exam. I still have to have xrays, an eccocardiogram, appointments with GYN, the dentist, the bone marrow transplant social worker and bmt coordinator. What a whirlwind!

My sister is coming down November 27, after Thanksgiving, to donate her cells. She will have exams and labs the first few days, then have the neupogen shots for four days. Then they will harvest her cells. During the time she is getting the neupogen, they will be giving me chemo to wipe out my cells. I'll probably get her cells on the same day they are harvested. If it takes two days for them to get enough cells from her, they will give me more the second day. Then I'll be in the hospital for at least a couple of weeks, probably longer, to recover. My immune system will be totally wiped out, so I can't get even the tiniest infection or I could die. The weeks following the stem cell transplant will be the worst. But if it works, I'll never have to worry about any kind of cancer again.

Please pray for me, for my sister, Johnnie, and for my family. Thank you!

12 comments:

Adrienne said...

Prayers, prayers, prayers...

Therese said...

Kalona,

What a cross you have to bear. I will be praying for you as you approach this treatment and all the way through.

Is there any saint you want us to ask to intercede for you specially?

Linda said...

Oh Kalona, I weep for you. Hold on and fight. Thank you for choosing the fight to live. I'm proud of your strength and your bravery. My prayers and my own sickness I offer up for you. I love you, sister.

Kalona said...

Thank you all, sweeties. I appreciate the prayers so much. I promise to fight this cancer as hard as I can.

Therese, St. Peregrine is the patron saint of those with cancer, and I also pray to St. Jude and my saint for this year, St. Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist. Thank you!

I love all of you, too!

Anonymous said...

Prayers continue for you and yours. God bless and hold you tightly.
K. Lee

PS Kids' costumes adorable!

Kalona said...

Thank you, K. Hope you and J are doing well.

Kalona said...

Natalie, I got your email comment and published it, but deleted it when I realized I'd made your dad's email address public. Thank you so much for letting me know that I'm not alone in this battle. I will be in touch. Prayers for your dad!

jen said...

my father-in-law is having his stem cell transplant in a few weeks so i totally know all the prep that it takes.

hang in there!

Jennifer Mulkey said...

You know you have our prayers, and they are ongoing. Stay strong, Kalona. We know it's out of our hands, so all you can do is pray about it and leave it to God :) Which I know you know and you probably don't need me telling you. But I feel pretty inadequate to tell you much more. You are in territory I've never been in. All I can do is let you know we are thinking of you constantly, you are always in our prayers, and we are hoping for healing, and that you will be cancer free for the rest of your life. I wish I lived closer, I would come help out in any way I can. As it is, I can pray, and send you out cyber hugs. Have been offering up Mass for you for the last month. Will continue to do so.

Kalona said...

Thank you Jen and Jennifer.

Sarah Oldham said...

I'm definitely still praying - and now praying harder than ever. You are so brave . . . and if I were in your shoes, I'd brave the risks, too, and get the transplant! You are all in my prayers, lovely gel.

Aloha and love.

Genny Conley said...

You're strong. I know you are.