Bone Marrow Transplant

So, I finally had my appointment in Dallas at the Baylor Cancer Institute. On the plus side, I LOVED everyone there! We had such a bad experience at MD Anderson, that I was expecting something similar. I am so glad that it was different and I am not just a number at Baylor.

Rob had to work due to the fact that we are going on vacation this week, so my sweet friend Tracy went with me. Tracy is my very organized (retired military), straight forward, let's get some answers friend. It was great having her there. I was free to talk and ask questions and not have to worry about remembering everything. She just sat back and took notes for me. It was great. Not to mention, it was fun having a "girls" day.

Well, I went straight to the transplant department, which confused me a bit since there hasn't been a biopsy performed yet, but my doctor would also be the one to do the biopsy. Well, it seems that this doctor feels I should have had a bone marrow transplant when I finished treatment and was in full remission. T-ALL is a very aggressive lymphoma and while I am/was in full remission, I had a very high chance of relapse. He said the transplant would decrease that chance drastically. So, I will be having a transplant in the near future. The first step will be to biopsy the mass under my sternum. He said it was a very easy biopsy, not the major procedure we were first informed of. He will be doing a CT guided needle biopsy. He will also biopsy the growth on my voice box at the same time. Once we have figured out what these masses are, then treatment will be discussed. If the mass under my sternum is lymphoma, we will have to do treatment to get me back into remission. He said it could be chemo, a different type, or even localized radiation to melt it away. Once I am in remission, we will then begin the transplant portion. They have sent my brother his kit to be tested for marrow matching. A sibling is the best possible match usually, so they start there. Even though he is the best possibility, there is only a 25% chance that he will match me. If he isn't a match, they will go into the national registry.

We are encouraging all of our friends that are able to get put on the national registry. If you aren't a match for me, you might match someone. This could save someones life. It is very simple. Go to your local blood center and tell them you want to be put on the national bone marrow registry. They will have you fill out paperwork and then it is just a cheek-swab test. You send it off to the registry and you will be put in. I spoke to our blood center here in Tyler and they told me that they currently have funding available, but they request you pay the $52 that it costs for the test to be run on your saliva. If you can't pay the full amount, pay what you can. If you can pay more, then please do so, so that others can be tested. You will stay on the registry until you turn 61 or your health prevents you from giving.

The donation process is actually quite simple once they have found a match. Once a match is found, they will contact them to see if they are willing to donate. Then some blood tests will be run just to guarantee the match. The donor will go in on the day of the procedure, they will go under general anesthesia and will be able to go home that day. They extract the bone marrow through needle aspirations. I have had 5 of these done while fully awake, just on "happy juice" as they call it. Your hip is sore for a day or two and that is it. The marrow is then tested, treated, and I will receive it through an IV just like a blood transfusion. I will have to stay in isolation for around 100 days. The first 3 weeks of this will be inpatient just for infection purposes, then I will be able to go home, I just can't go anywhere. Can we say...BORING??? I'm going to go CRAZY!!!

But, my doctor feels this is the best way to get me CURED! So, we are moving forward.

One thing that is very cool is that my blood will completely take the DNA of my donor. He said if I were to commit a crime and leave a blood trail, and then they tested my DNA by a skin sample or hair sample, they wouldn't match. HAHAHA! We thought this was hilarious! He told us that he said that to another patient one time who was a federal agent and his brother who was in law enforcement. He said they just sat there straight faced and didn't find it funny at all. I thought it was cool and would make me a little more unique.

Well, this led me to ask the question, "who's DNA would my baby get- mine or my donor's when we had a baby?" Those close to us know that Rob and I have wanted to have a baby for quite a while now. Rob is really wanting another boy in the house (even all our animals are female). The chemo pushed all of that and now it has been pushed further. The doctor told me that it would pretty much be impossible for me to conceive. This was not what I wanted to hear. That was probably the lowest I've been even since the first day I was told I had cancer. I started crying immediately. We went through several options of freezing embryos and back on the lupron shot, but the doctor said that the freezing of the embryos would really delay things, and I am not real big on that idea anyways. If we don't use all the embryos, they destroy them, and well, I believe life begins at conception, so I just can't do it. He doesn't want to do the lupron shot because he needs to attack the ovary tissue too in case it contains cancerous cells. After calming down, I remembered that we serve an awesome God. And, I know that through Him, NOTHING is impossible.

We are trusting that God will give us the babies we are wanting, one way or another. I know several people who have been told they would never have children, and they now have 2 or 3. We have given this to Him and I know He will work it out. From day one that Rob and I knew each other, we both said we had a desire to adopt. Even if God chooses to give us more children through adoption, we will be truly blessed. Of course, as a woman, I want the pregnancy, but I want the child more. My mom told me the other day that God knows when our baby will be born and in whose belly he will grow. I know this is true and we are trusting Him to bring us our baby when it is His will. Of course, our girls are pushing for it now. They want a baby brother so bad. If God has chosen that we are to only have our two beautiful daughters, we are already truly blessed! Children are miracles and blessings from above!

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers! We will keep you posted as we find out more!

With God, WE WILL BEAT THIS!!!