Angie's Stem Cell Transplant 2006: Day -1

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.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Day -1

Mom is here tonight with me & she says she was here for my first birthday & wants to be here for my second one too!
Today, I felt mostly"low grade" nausea but did some walking to help alleviate the feeling. It was a mellow type of day as I reflected on tomorrow. My nurses Cathy & Heather were in this morning to review the whole procedure for the Stem Cell Infusion. Prior to the SCT, I will be given Benedryl, Ativan & Zofran to help prevent an allergic reaction, anxiety, & nausea. The allergic reaction & nausea can be brought on by the preservative that was mixed in with my stem cells when they were collected a few weeks ago. The preservative is referred to as DMSO (I haven't looked up what this stands for). A doctor & nurse will be present for the entire procedure & my vitals will be closely monitored. A suction apparatus was brought in by my bedside tonight in case I have some mucous build up during the procedure.....
Someone from the Stem Cell Bank will wheel up my frozen cells on a metal cart with a sink that will be used to thaw the cells prior to putting them back in. Apparently, the cells are infused just like when you are given a blood or platelet transfusion by I.V.
I hope to have some photos to share with you tomorrow & will provide more details when I feel a bit better.
Angie

7 Comments:

Unknown said...: I love your mom's comment so much! :)

Thank you for sharing the specifics of tomorrow's big event. I've read a bit about it, including some specifics of others' experiences; however, none of them shared much procedural detail, and I really appreciate hearing about that. The whole thing is of course rather terrifying to me, and I find that by being as prepared as I can be, I manage to feel like I have just a little bit of control over what's happening to me. So thank you so much! I'm finding it just such a gift to have access to your SCT experience, occurring just before mine. I am just blown away that you're so committed to maintaining this blog every single day of your experience, whether in your own voice or that of someone who loves you. I don't know if your desire was to provide this amazing resource to the folks coming up behind you or just simply to share daily, detailed updates with your friends and family. Either way, I consider it an enormous gift. My way of repaying you is to continue to comment my little heart out here on your blog and give you just as much support as I possibly can. :)

Happy, happy birthday!!!; 10:13 pm
Anonymous said...: Angie, you are simply amazing.Will be thinking of you all day tomorrow, have a great birthday.; 10:35 pm
Anonymous said...: GO STEM CELLS...work it.....do it.....out with the bad in with the new.

Jane, Michelle, Holly & Timothy are shaking our Pom Poms and doing a Stem Cell Cheer!

Soon Mt Everest will look just like a hill.

MUCH MUCH Love J,M,H&T; 8:42 am
Anonymous said...: Hi Angie. Our thoughts are with you during this tough battle. Continue to be strong and best of luck.

Cynthia, Dick and Family; 8:59 am
Anonymous said...: Thank You Angie for the update. We are with you girl. We will see you on "TOP OG THE MOUNTAIN". From your Uncle and Aunt and Cousins in the west.XOXOXO; 11:08 am
Anonymous said...: Hi Angie & family...our thoughts & prayers are with you...all the best...God bless...; 11:37 am
Anonymous said...: Hi Angie
I got your site from Sue.
Great thing this is.
I understand you will let us know
when it is time to see people.
Bea and I are always thinking of you and Sue. Most times they are even good thoughts! Who knew!
We will keep an eye on your blog.
Happy Happy Happy!!!
Lots of Love
Jim & Bea; 3:57 pm