Angie's Stem Cell Transplant 2006: Day 2 Stem Cell Collection

About Me

Location: Nova Scotia, Canada

In Sept./05 I was diagnosed with Primary Mediastinal Large Diffuse B Cell Non Hodgkins Lymphoma. The tumour in my chest measured 10cm x 10.6cm x5cm. After I completed 6 rounds of CHOP-R chemotherapy, a CT Scan in Jan.06 showed that my tumour had decreased by well over half the original size. A Gallium Scan showed negative for cancer cells in my mass. We decided to do 2 more treatments to be sure we killed any remaining cancer. We now had to decide if I should proceed with radiation. Did the risks of radiation outweigh the benefits? My hematologist and radiation oncologist had excellent arguments for both sides of the coin. The decision was to be mine. They set up appointments for me to see doctors in Toronto and Vancouver for 2nd opinions. In Vancouver I had a PET/CT Scan (a superior machine to a Gallium Scan) to see if my tumour was active. On March 17th this scan revealed that my tumour WAS still active and had INCREASED in size from an early scan. This meant that I had Relapsed or Refractory NHL....my best chance for cure was a Stem Cell Transplant. In my blog, I will describe what I am going through before, during and after my transplant.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Day 2 Stem Cell Collection

Today, Coleen & I made the trek to the hospital together for another collection of my stem cells.

I was hooked up from 8am. until 12:30pm and we managed to collect another 2.7 million stems cells.......now I have 5.4 million cells for my transplant day.....400,000 more than the maximum they were looking for.......SO lots available to recharge my batteries when I need them!

My stem cell nurse coordinator, Joanne met with us today to discuss the game plan from this point on. Over the next few weeks I will have some tests & doctor appointments. I will explain them as they happen.

Here is a brief summary of my countdown to my SCT:

DAY 5 - Thursday, July 13th I will be admitted to the hospital.
DAY 4 - Friday, July 14th I will be given a chemotherapy treatment called VP-16(Etoposide) over about 5 hours.
DAY 3 - Saturday, July 15th I receive a chemotherapy treatment called Melphalan over a 15-20 minute period.
DAY 2 - Sunday, July 16th NO CHEMO
DAY 1 - Monday, July 17th NO CHEMO
DAY 0 - Tuesday, July 18th **TRANSPLANT DAY** MY NEW BIRTHDAY

After my Stems Cells are transplanted into my blood we start counting up again. I will be in hospital 2-4 weeks after Transplant Day.

That is a general overview and of course I will provide more details as it happens.

3 Comments:

jeannie said...: I was just listening to an old Quirks and Quarks podcast on Happiness. (go to cbc.ca and eventually you'll find it under Podcasts) What makes us happy: a bunch of things---but more the little things in life than the big ones. Which must be why I felt a surge of happiness reading about the little things, like having a few extra stem cells.

Jeannie; 1:27 pm
Anonymous said...: Angie & Sue

Much love to you both.

Wishing healthy and healing thoughts each day to you and your family Angie.

Jane & Michelle; 8:57 pm
Anonymous said...: Hi Angie,
I have been keeping track of your progress thru your blog and sending positive energy your way... It looks like I will be in Nova Scotia one week after your transplant. I hope you are feeling up to a visit, would love to see you. By the way, your landscaping looks fabulous!
Stay positive my friend,
Dee (Ottawa); 8:52 pm