Multiple Myeloma Stem Cell Transplant Stories

On february 21st 2000 i had the stem cell transplant.

Multiple myeloma stem cell transplant stories.

It isn t a cure but compared to chemotherapy alone a. Before the transplant drug treatment is used to reduce the number of myeloma cells in the patient s body. They were right about the hair but while i had to swallow hard a few times i did not throw. They said i would lose my hair and would likely be sick.

Robert orlowski with chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant. It can be a strong weapon in your fight against multiple myeloma. An adult stem cell transplant for multiple myeloma requires the elimination of the bad cells throughout the body using chemotherapy and replacing them with the good or healthy cells. Multiple myeloma stories symptoms diagnosis treatment.

Multiple myeloma patient don kendall had a pretty good idea what to expect when he began his stem cell transplant in january 2014. You want to go to a doctor who sees at least 50 myeloma patients a year or is part of a practice that sees 100 myeloma patients a. In combination with high dose chemotherapy stem cell transplantation can offer durable remission for multiple myeloma patients but the process of transplantation can be intimidating sometimes involving a lengthy hospital stay. A that time the chemo dose given was heavier than that given today.

Heather was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2007. After i was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in april 2015 i was treated at md anderson by dr. See drug therapy for multiple myeloma stem cell transplants sct can be autologous or allogeneic. High dose chemotherapy attacks multiple myeloma cells and a stem cell transplant provides a new source of healthy plasma cells.

Multiple myeloma is a relatively uncommon cancer. Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells. Your doctor may only treat three or four myeloma patients a year. In 2015 heather had a stem cell transplant and is now in remission.

A lot of people ask me about that experience so i ve put together a list of the five most common questions i get along with my answers. For an autologous stem cell transplant the. Her goal then was to be there for her 8 year old son adam s 18th birthday. In this case cindy could use her own adult stem cells which would be harvested from her bone marrow cleaned and then injected back into her body.

Normal plasma cells are found in the bone marrow and are an important part of the immune system. When i was first diagnosed i went out and bought my son a gold st christopher for his 18th birthday wrapped it up and put it away. That s because he was undergoing his second transplant within six months as part of a clinical trial at the md anderson stem cell transplantation and cellular therapy center. Stem cell transplant is commonly used to treat multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma occurs when plasma cells become cancerous and grow out of control.